


A Red Tulip

by AkaashisBitch



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Minor Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi, college students
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-03-20 16:23:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13721490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkaashisBitch/pseuds/AkaashisBitch
Summary: Oikawa is a college student. Iwaizumi is a pianist. Sounds like a melody for a love story.





	1. Chapter 1

Oikawa’s least favorite season was winter.

The wind ripped through his jacket as he zipped it up higher, snuggling his neck deeper into his red scarf. “I’m f-fucking freezing. Why didn’t we t-take the car?”

“There’d be no where to park. It’s only a bit further, Tooru.”

“All you ever do is complain,” Tsukishima deadpanned. Kuroo and him were hand and hand next to Oikawa as they hurried along the busy sidewalk.

“And why d-did I have to come again?”

“Because Tsukki loves this orchestra and you love spending time with your best friends,” Kuroo sung his words as he nuzzled up next to Oikawa, earning a low growl of complaint.

It’s not as if Oikawa doesn’t enjoy classical music. It’s a nice change from the everyday music that blares on the radio, from Nicki Minaj to some odd dubstep, but he had a recording of the newest space documentary from the history channel on DVR. That and it was also a hell of a lot warmer in his apartment than it was outside. 

“C’mon Tooru, I even brought a mirror so you won’t get bored.”

Oikawa glared at Kuroo. “How’s a mirror g-going to help my boredom?”

Kuroo pulled a tiny makeup mirror out, shoving it into the brunettes left pocket. “So you can look at yourself, duh.”

Oikawa jabbed him in the ribs,  _ hard _ , earning a whine from his bed-headed friend. Tsukishima remained silent as he pulled his boyfriend, “I refuse to let you two sit next to each other and ruin my experience. Now hurry up, I don’t  _ enjoy  _ turning into a popsicle.” 

Kuroo raised an eyebrow at that, a smirk pulling at his lips. “I wonder what flavor you’d be.”

Oikawa’s features scrunched. “It’d be like licking frozen salt, disgusting.”

“Hey, my boyfriend isn’t disgusting. I was just going to offer to share with you too.”

Oikawa huffed as the three made their way into the revolving doors. Oikawa’s favorite type of door was the revolving kind. One summer, the three of them had gone to a pool and the door was a revolver. Oikawa had spent a good five minutes in there, circling around before Tsukishima had to yank him out.

The venue was beautiful. The pale golden columns extended up towards the ceiling, rounding once they got close, creating an arch. The floor was a glowing light brown color, looking as if they polish it every two hours. Three enormous chandeliers hung from the highest ceiling Oikawa had ever seen, the glass reflecting the lights in the room in a rainbow of colors.

They gave their tickets, finally starting to warm up, and made their way into the auditorium. This was just as impressive as the entryway. The seats were red velvet and lined the entire place. Countless people were already in their seats, patiently waiting for the show to start. The stage took up the front of the auditorium, lined with matching red curtains that closed off the stage.

Tsukishima must’ve paid an unreasonable amount of money for these tickets, because they kept walking closer and closer to the front, ending up in the twelfth row back.

Just as promised, Oikawa sat on one side of the blonde, while Kuroo took the other. They slumped off their jackets, moving their legs or standing up every so often to let others pass by them to get further into the row.

“This place is amazing. I can’t even imagine how much this cost you.” Oikawa looked around once more, spotting a handful of balconies lining the sides of the walls.  _ I’m sure those cost a pretty penny. _

Tsukishima hummed, the glow in his eyes extremely evident. Oikawa always thought that he was beautiful, especially when he was excited about something. He had the perfect legs, a doting smile and dark golden eyes that were always thinking of his next snarky remark. “Yeah, I had been saving for a while. Once I sold your birthday present, I was pretty much set.”

“What the fuck? I spent two weeks trying to think of the perfect present for you, and you gave it away?”

“No, I  _ sold  _ it. There’s a distinct difference.”

He spent forever thinking of that gift though. He personalized a doll sized alien to resemble the tall blonde himself. All the way down to his glasses and annoyed smirk he had when they were together. Who would pay money for that other than him? 

Kuroo leaned forward, a smirk dancing on his face. “I really liked it though. I’m surprised he found anyone to buy it. Now someone has their own personal Tsukki in their house.”

Oikawa was about to retort how  _ gross  _ that sounded, when the lights started to dim and a voice boomed over the speakers, announcing the beginning of the performance. The entire crowd grew silent as the curtains pulled open, revealing about two to three dozen men dressed in sharp suits (or maybe tuxedos? Oikawa never cared to learn the difference).

The conductor turned to the crowd and gave a bow, returning his gaze to his orchestra. With the instructions of his arms, the music began to fill the venue with loud, melodic music.

Oikawa found himself looking through the many faces, watching how some of them looked so at peace, while others looked extremely pained. Either way, they were creating some of the most beautiful music Oikawa had ever heard. Don’t get him wrong, he’s heard band performances when he was in high school, but they couldn’t even touch this in comparison.

It was almost as if each set of instruments were fighting for dominance. None of them were overpowering the other in any terrible way to ruin the performance though, and that was probably thanks to the conductor. Gazing up at his lean body and dark soft hair, he was controlling this raging battle with ease. He might not be touching an instrument with his hands, but this melody only sounded so smooth because of him. Oikawa couldn’t help but admire him.

Tsukishima and Kuroo were as silent as he was. Tsukishima’s eyes danced over the players faces, his mouth in an ‘o’ shape, his eyes the brightest color of yellow they ever got. It was nice to see him care about something so much, to have something to take his mind off of any and everything else in this world, if only for a short amount of time. 

Kuroo was intently watching as well, but he would sneak a glance at his blonde boyfriend every now and then, and the smile on his face melted Oikawa’s heart. 

They’d been together since high school, making it four years of tender kisses, sarcastic remarks with love intertwined and everlasting memories. Kuroo had popped the big L word first, about a year after they got together, and the rest was history. It made Oikawa envious but also content. 

Oikawa had never had what his two best friends have. Sure, girls would confess to him every now and then, and he would try with the ones that could hold a good conversation, but they all ended because they had been more concerned with ‘the good-looking Oikawa’ than just Oikawa himself. He even tried putting himself out there once he came out as gay, but they’d either be too emotional, becoming jealous of Kuroo and Tsukishima, never being put above them; or a simple fuck buddy scenario that Oikawa didn’t know they were doing. 

So instead, he simply shut down his emotions, building tall walls and chaining them up. Sure, he still held conversations with guys from time to time. He even took home a couple of them, ending the night with sweaty bodies and tousled hair. That was it though, physical acts, nothing more. He might still be jealous of his two friends, but no one had piqued his interest enough to even consider the thought of trying again.

The music grew louder, hitting a couple dramatic notes before simmering back down, quieter than before. The sound had pulled Oikawa from his thoughts, as he fixed himself in his seat, running a hand through his hair. 

Oikawa’s eyes fixed on a man as he walked on stage, sitting down in front of the once empty grand piano.

Fuck, he was  _ gorgeous _ .

His hair was dark, spiky, but not in an odd mohawk way. His eyes were piercing, the piano the only thing in his sights. The suit (or tuxedo, who fucking cares), sculpted his body in all the right ways. It defined the biceps he apparently had hidden away, and outlined a lean body. The look on his face was determined, hungry, and excited. He sat down graciously, as the music grew quieter with each passing second. 

Once the music was barely above a whisper, the piano began to sing out, dominating all other instruments easily. The noises it made were perfect, calming. It was soft, yet demanding attention. The pianist’s face was flawless as well. His eyes closed as he danced along with the music, a small smile decorating his face, showing how much fun he was having. Some of the other members looked happy while playing, but none of them had smiled. It pulled at Oikawa’s heart, just a little.

The pianist had captured all of Oikawa’s attention, and before he knew it, the performance was over. Before he came out, the concert felt like hours, but listening to those keys being played, it felt like mere minutes had passed by. Oikawa wished it would’ve lasted longer.

Applause erupted from the crowd, everyone giving a standing ovation. Some were hollering, others whistling, some even threw flowers onto the stage. 

The orchestra members lined up, bowing alongside each other. Their faces full of pleased expressions, satisfied with the way they had performed.

The curtains pulled closed, and Oikawa lost sight of the dark-haired man.

* * *

 

“Why the hell does someone have their child out this late anyways?” Tsukishima snarled after their waitress left, going to put in their food orders. A child in a nearby booth had been fussing and screaming at the mother that it wanted ice cream, the mother scolding and repeating the word ‘no’.

They had come to a nice restaurant after the performance, hunger winning over any other needs in their bodies at the moment. It wasn’t too packed, but it wasn’t slow either. The air was filled with multiple conversations, all about different things.

Kuroo was eating his milkshake with a spoon (yes, eating, Kuroo insisted it was eating due to the usage of a spoon and not drinking) and complaining of brain freezes every five minutes. It was a Reese’s one, and had been topped off with a mountain of whip cream. Kuroo still had a white mustache from the it.

“Not everyone’s parents are the same, babe. When we have kids, I’m sure you’ll have your moments too.” Kuroo nudged the blonde as he talked, offering another bite of milkshake, which Tsukishima reluctantly took. 

“We are not having kids. Those little monsters are awful. They suck the money out of you  _ and  _ your soul. We can just get another fish.”

Oikawa watched them go back and forth, bantering about kids for the umpteenth time. He reached over and took another bite of Kuroos’ shake, much to the latter’s dismay. Honestly, Oikawa will never understand how they can even think about kids, let alone, pets. Obviously a fish wouldn’t be bad, but they’re  _ boring _ . Oikawa was always more of a dog person, maybe even the occasional cat as well, but never a fish. How would you cuddle a fish? “Alright, chill. Fish are lame, and a kid raised by Kuroo would be the devil. Can we talk about literally anything else? I feel like I'm out to eat with my grandparents.”

Tsukishima shot him a look, while Kuroo raised a brow. “Oh, like maybe the hot piano player that you’ve already mentioned like, twenty times?”

Oikawa’s face reddened at that. “It was not twenty times, and I just really liked his playing.”

“Yeah, probably his dick, too.”

Oikawa threw his straw wrapper at him.

Tsukishima took another bite of milkshake, with Kuroo complaining that they should’ve ordered their own, before looking back at Oikawa. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to stick around and get his number. I mean he was hot, and you won’t shut up about him.”

Oikawa shrugged his shoulders. _ Why does Tsukishima always make me sound like that?  _ In all honesty, Oikawa had wanted to wait, but didn’t know how long it would take or if he’d even see him. His stomach was growling of hunger too, so he gave out to his dominant instinct.

Oikawa laid his chin in his hand as he twirled his fork in the other, wondering if he’d be here right now if he had waited for that guy’s number. Maybe he’d be under that lean body, oozing noises of satisfaction instead.

Their food came a couple minutes later, the three of them stuffing their faces as if it was their first meal in days. Tsukishima had gotten a chicken salad, while Kuroo was digging into five pancakes. Oikawa had ordered a large pepperoni pizza and ate it all himself. 

Once they’d finished, Kuroo ordered another shake to go and they paid. 

“Where do you store all that food? You should weigh four hundred pounds by now.” Oikawa will never understand his friend’s body. He ate almost every minute of the day. If he wasn’t eating food, he’d usually be laying around thinking about what he’d be consuming next, or sleeping.

Kuroo thanked the waitress for the second shake as they headed out. He held his right arm up and flexed it, showing off his biceps. “I work out.” That dumb sly smirk rolled along his lips as he said it.

The cold bit Oikawa’s skin as they opened the door back outside. A shiver ran down his spine as he retreated back behind his scarf. “It’s f-freezing out, how’re you drinking that anyway?!”

Kuroo looked at him as if he asked why he loved his boyfriend, as if it was the dumbest question ever asked. “‘Cause it’s good?”

Oikawa simply sighed as they made their way to the station.

 

* * *

 

Oikawa waved goodbye from inside the lobby of his apartment, as his only two friends made their way home. He hopped in the elevator, too lazy to take the stairs, and rode it up to the third floor. He fiddled with his keys before letting himself in. 

It was a standard apartment, nothing too flashy. The dorms at his university were loft style, and Oikawa had loved them. They were however, extremely expensive. His scholarship had covered half of the expenses during his first semester, when he had dormed there. His room was the ideal room, the kind you see in movies. Once the second semester came, he decided living in a nearby apartment would be cheaper, and more convenient without annoying roommates. Not that he didn’t like his roommate. He was just loud, messy and annoying.

Yeah, he didn’t really like his roommate. 

Now, when he would come home, he would walk into a quiet, empty apartment instead of a messy loud one that reeked of weed and testosterone. Kuroo and Tsukishima told him to move in with them, but he could never impose like that. He would not. Sure, they had sleepovers from time to time, and Oikawa still spent most of his time there. He loved them more than anyone else, and he wasn’t going to smother them with his presence and have them grow tired of him. Not that they would, hopefully.

Oikawa heaved a heavy sigh as he got ready for bed. “I really think too much.”

He didn’t over decorate, but he made this space his own. He had bought the glow in the dark stars that he had in his room at home and decorated his bedroom ceiling with them. He even hung the solar system he made his senior year of high school, out of a hula hoop and some string, right from the middle of the ceiling. He had a poster of an alien shaking hands with Abraham Lincoln. His favorite thing shaking hands with his favorite president. Tsukishima hated it, but it will always be the coolest thing that Oikawa had ever bought. 

After brushing his teeth, Oikawa threw himself into bed with one thing still on his mind. That damn pianist. Oikawa wasn’t even sure why. It’s not like he’s never seen a good-looking guy before. Maybe it was just because he played the piano so well. 

With a final stretch, he pulled a pillow close and snuggled under the blankets. Drifting off to sleep with the distant echo of that damn piano.

 

* * *

 

“Your tests will be posted by the end of the week. Dismissed.”

_ Thank fuck. _

Oikawa yawned as he stretched his arms out on either side of him. He put his glasses back in their case and packed up to leave.

He’d been studying for that exam  _ forever _ . It was thirty percent of his grade, one hundred and fifty questions. Oikawa hated physics. He was good at math, but physics always threw him for a loop. He had to study twice as hard if he wanted to do good, and he  _ needed  _ to do good if he was going to keep pursuing his major in astronomy. 

Oikawa headed out the door, making his way to the nearby coffee shop. It had just opened and Kuroo said he wanted to meet up. Who could say no to coffee? Hopefully it had food, too.

His phone began vibrating in his pocket. When he fished it out he saw Kuroo’s contact picture.

“Hello?”

“Hey, doll face! Do you miss me?”

“I’m about to see you in a minute.” Even after Tsukishima and him started dating, Kuroo never stopped with his little pet names.

“About that, I’m running a little late. Can you grab us a table? I should be there in ten.”

Oikawa could hear traffic in the background, a couple raised voices too. “Are you outside?”

“Yeah I-Sorry!” Kuroo huffed. “I had to run last minute errands for my boss, but is that okay?”

Oikawa never liked Kuroo’s boss, and neither did Tsukishima. He was, in the simplest terms, a dick. Kuroo was an intern at a web design firm. His goal is to eventually make it to Google, and with his talents, he should have no problem. When he stumbled upon this, they offered to pay him as well as teach him. So, he quit his old job and stuck with this one full time, while finishing up the last two semesters of college where Tsukishima and Oikawa also attended. 

“Yeah, I’ll see you in ten.”

“Awesome! Love you.”

Oikawa could hear the smile through the phone. “I love me, too,” and with that he hung up.

Without realizing, Oikawa found himself in front of the doors to the coffee shop. Talking to Kuroo really cut down his time apparently. 

When he opened the door, he was greeted with the smell of hazelnut and lively conversations. He peered around, and it was a quaint little shop. Books lined one of the walls, and there was a mixture of booths and tables around the place. Oikawa could see himself doing projects and homework here in the future. 

He turned to make his way to the counter when he saw him. The same dark-haired pianist from three nights ago. He hadn’t slipped Oikawa’s mind, but just took a back seat to all the other hectic things going on in his life right now. 

He was back up front now though.

He was wearing dark jeans with boots, a red flannel covered with a scarf and heavy jacket that had been unzipped. He looked just as good as he did during the performance.

He was chatting up a shorter, gray-haired guy and both had coffees in their hands. He was dressed similarly, except his flannel was replaced with a nice turquoise sweater, with a smile that illuminated his face. He was also good-looking, which made Oikawa grimace. Maybe they’re dating, maybe they’re not. Only one way to find out.

Oikawa mustered up some courage he didn’t plan on needing, and strolled up to the pair as they made their way to the door. He blocked their path, smiling as he said, “Hey. I saw you play at that orchestra. You’re really talented.”

The taller of the two smiled, his face lighting up with pride. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

Oikawa’s heart skipped a beat, as cliché as it sounded. He had seen him smile during the performance, but it was geared towards the piano and not him. Now it was. He cleared his throat, continuing with his original objective. “I was going to wait and ask for your number, but I had to go. Think I can get it now?”

The gray-haired man smiled, as the dark-haired one’s face grew a shade of pink. “Oh, thanks again, but no thank you. I gotta get going.”

Oikawa cursed to himself, his smile never faltering, as he turned to the shorter of the two. “Oh, I don’t mind sharing him if you don’t. I’m always up to try new things.” 

The shorter one laughed at that, as the dark-haired one dropped his coffee, drenching Oikawa’s shoes. Oikawa stepped back, assessing the damage. They were dark sneakers, so no harm done. As he looked back up, the look on the other man’s face was  _ horrifying _ .  His eyes were wide, mouth agape and hands shaking at his sides as if he’d just seen a ghost. “C’mon, it’s just some coffee, no worries.”

That appeared to do the opposite of soothe him, as his face slowly transformed from horrified to  _ pissed _ . His dark eyes bore into Oikawa, causing him to take a step back. Before he could get another word out, he was gone.

Oikawa was frozen in place, confusion decorating his features, as the other male stirred beside him. “I’m so sorry,” and with that, the gray-haired man followed his partner out of the shop. Oikawa recovered from his shock, turning only to see that the two were gone. He turned back around, heaving one of the heaviest sighs he’s ever produced. He had  _ never _ , in his life, been turned down before.

The thought made him annoyed, as he made his way to the counter to order his coffee. 


	2. Chapter 2

“I mean, what the _fuck_?!”

“Tooru, please, for the love of god. Stop moving.”

Oikawa glared at Tsukishima, reluctantly obliging. “Are you even listening to me?”

Tsukishima peered his head out from behind the canvas. His face had a stripe of purple on his left cheek. “He turned you down and now you’re forever in denial. Yes, I can _hear_ you.”

Oikawa came over his friend’s apartment to wallow his sorrows in their weekly Sunday movie and ice cream night. Somehow, Kuroo forgot the ice cream, no one could agree on a movie, and Tsukishima weaseled Oikawa into modeling for his painting. Not that he minded, he’d modeled for his friend multiple times before.

Obviously because of his good looks.

“Tooru. Stop making that face. It’s pissing me off.”

“Tsukki-kun, you piece of-”

Just as Oikawa was about to call him every name under the sun, Kuroo _finally_ came through the door, three tubs of ice cream in hand. “I’m back! And I got everyone’s favorite.” The grin on his face said, ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘at least I got your favorites.’

Oikawa huffed, disappointed about his profanity being cut short. He settled back in place, so Tsukishima would stop staring daggers into him.

Tsukishima was definitely the next Picasso. His attention to detail was _phenomenal_. When they were still in high school, he always had a sketchbook with him, in case the urge to draw struck. When he first started out, his drawings were never bad, but with years of practice and patience, he’d caught the eye of a few agents. The art gallery down the street from the school even asked for some of his pieces to be shown there.

Portraits were always the hardest thing for him to tackle. Oikawa and Kuroo had spent countless hours sitting still, in odd positions, or staring directly at Tsukishima so he could practice the human body. Oikawa is pretty sure that’s when Kuroo had started to fall for him.

Kuroo lugged the ice cream into the kitchen, clearing room in the freezer for the tubs. “Do you guys want your ice cream now, or should it wait until the paint's put away?”

Oikawa couldn’t hold in his laugh, and the look Tsukishima gave both of them was murderous. The last time they had ice cream and the blonde was painting, he’d somehow ended up taking a bite of paint instead of mint chocolate chip.

Kuroo’s smirk never wavered under the blonde’s death glare. “Did you guys pick the movie yet?”

Oikawa huffed. “No, because _someone_ shot down my decision.”

“For the last _fucking_ time. Stop moving.” Tsukishima, unsurprisingly, now had a second streak of paint on the other side of his face. He looked like a warrior, face painted for battle. His eyes were serious, giving Oikawa the impression of a leader. “We’ve already watched The Incredibles at least twenty times. We should watch something else.”

“But the new one’s coming out this summer!” Oikawa whined, hoping to persuade Tsukishima with this.

Kuroo chimed in next to him. “I swear I’m pushing every kid out of my way. They didn’t have to suffer, waiting _fourteen_ years for a sequel!”

Tsukishima sighed, one of defeat, as he put his brushes down, signaling that he was done. The two dark-haired boys made their way over to check out the finished product.

Damn. Tsukishima was a miracle worker.

Believe it or not, Oikawa was never confident in himself before becoming friends with these two. He would always second guess himself, finding flaws in the smallest things. He knew he wasn’t _unattractive_ , but he never thought he was as beautiful as these two made him feel.

When he had met them for the first time, he was distracted by how _gorgeous_ he thought they were. He’d been looking to find a book for his research paper in the library when he stumbled upon Tsukishima. The blonde had looked perplexed, whispering out loud to himself. Oikawa heard the words ‘astrology’ and ‘astronomy’. That piqued his interest, moving his legs forward, asking if he needed any help. The blonde looked reluctant but explained that he wasn’t sure of the difference.

That began their friendship. Oikawa agreed to help Tsukishima with his astronomy course, later with his astrology one as well. In turn, Tsukishima agreed to proofread any and all of his essays and help him study. Kuroo found them two weeks later, stating that he saw them there every other day and asked to form a study group. The three of them were all intelligent, keeping the group together because of their growing friendship instead of pretending to need help studying.

Once Tsukishima began painting them, Oikawa saw himself in another light. Just like all his other portraits, the one before the three of them was _beautiful_.

Oikawa’s eyes were dark, rich chocolate, matching the curls on his head. His face was relaxed, the olive color matching his skin perfectly. He was holding a mirror in his hand, peering into it. If Oikawa didn’t know better, he would think the blonde shoved someone into the canvas, instead of creating this with his own hands. The only difference was the purple eyeliner on his lids. Oikawa could only manage the word ‘wow.’

Tsukishima glanced up at the two, looking for signs of approval. Not that he needed it, his two friends were always blown away by his work. Maybe it was just some form of reassurance he needed. “So, you like it?”

Kuroo whistled as he threw his arm around Oikawa’s shoulders. “Now, who wouldn’t want that?”

Tsukishima smiled as Oikawa scoffed, crossing his arms. “ _Obviously_ that stupid piano player. I even offered to have a threesome with them.” Oikawa thought back on their encounter, remembering how upset he seemed to get when Oikawa had mentioned it. “It just seemed to piss him off instead.”

Tsukishima began cleaning his brushes and moved the easel with the painting out of the way to dry. He washed his face of the paint, and Oikawa wanted to tell him that it was a surprisingly good look, but the blonde would most likely think he was being patronized.

Kuroo ruffled his chocolate locks in an attempt to cheer him up. “Well people usually don’t get offered random threesomes. Especially with a hot guy like you.” A light bulb seemed to turn on his head, as his eyes lit up. “How come you’ve never offered to have a threesome with us?”

Tsukishima actually laughed. Oikawa looked between the two, an unreadable expression on his face. He pushed Kuroo away as he made his way to the ice cream. “Why would I want to be drooled on the whole time?”

“Are you implying that Tsukki drools?”

Oikawa laughed at that, finding a spoon and his cookies & cream ice cream in the freezer. “No. _You_ drool. Tsukki-kun is too salty for me.”

Tsukishima re-appeared behind him, searching for his mint chocolate chip. “I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, but the more you insult me, the further your threesome gets.”

Things were always so easy between the three of them. Perverted jokes like they were still sixteen. Oikawa wouldn’t have it any other way. He doesn’t know who’s looking out for him up there, but Oikawa owes them a great deal. “I already said I didn’t want a threesome with you two. Nice to know you’d be up for it though.” He winked as he made his way over to the couch.

Kuroo and Tsukishima followed suit, Kuroo digging out The Incredibles while Oikawa cheered.

Tsukishima began to complain but Oikawa cut him off. “Sorry, but it’s Tetsu-kun and I against you. Majority rules.”

Kuroo plopped down next to his boyfriend, Oikawa on the other side of the blonde. “Oh, so it’s back to ‘Tetsu-kun’ now huh? What happened to ‘Kuroo’?”

“You were pissing me off.”

Kuroo shoved a spoonful of cotton candy flavored ice cream in his mouth. “Tsukki pisses you off, but you never drop his nickname.”

Tsukishima kept fiddling with the remote, ignoring the guys on either side of him as he ate his ice cream. Oikawa snagged a bite of his ice cream, anger bubbling behind the blonde’s eyes. “Tsukki-kun is more emotional than us. He’d be heartbroken if I ever took his nickname away.”

The blonde shoved his foot in the brunette’s face, a wail of complaint erupting from Oikawa. Tsukishima smiled, as he rested his feet in Oikawa’s lap, leaning against Kuroo. “The threesome is officially off the table.”

 

* * *

 

Oikawa glanced down at his grocery list for the tenth time, checking what else he needed to get.

Oikawa always felt so old when he had to ‘adult’. Grocery shopping, paying bills, being _responsible_. It sucked. The only good thing about being an adult would be not having a curfew. Even that lost its pizzazz, because instead of being forced to go to bed, he was forced to stay up at work, bartending until wee hours of the morning. Sometimes he would get lucky and get done before midnight, but those nights were far and few between.

It was good money though, and helped him live comfortably in his small apartment. If he had earlier and more frequent classes, he’d never be able to function. Thankfully he scheduled his semester so he started at eleven in the morning, was out by four, and only had three classes a week.

The only thing left on the list was pasta sauce.

He pushed his cart along, scanning the aisles for his desired item, finally making his way down aisle six. Instead of pasta however, he found a man in sweats and a hoodie.

The same man that had rejected him exactly one week ago. Oikawa physically stiffened, dissatisfaction coursing through his veins at the sight of the good-looking man.

Oikawa did what he does best: unknit his eyebrows, put on a painfully wide smile and walked his cocky ass up to the only man to ever reject Oikawa Tooru. “Ah, so we meet again.”

The shorter man turned, a surprised look on his face as he dropped the can he was holding. His surprise shifted to one of severe annoyance at the sight of Oikawa. He slowly picked up the can, eyes scanning the brunette from head to toe, never opening his mouth to reply.

Oikawa took his silence as his answer, talking again to fill the silence. “I sure have an effect on your body, huh?”

Oikawa’s smile grew even wider as the dark-haired man’s face went from annoyed to angry. “Are you following me just to piss me off?”

“No. Pure coincidence. I wasn’t trying to piss you off when I said I liked your playing though.” Oikawa really wanted to hear it again, but that seemed like an odd request for someone who he still didn’t know the name of.

Guys usually fell over themselves to talk to Oikawa. He’d never had to think about starting the conversation, and this man was making Oikawa take the initiative.

Oikawa reluctantly stuck his hand out, attempting a hand shake. “Oikawa. Tooru Oikawa.”

The man looked Oikawa in the eyes, contemplating on making contact. After a couple of seconds that felt like _hours_ , he stuck his hand out, shaking Oikawa’s hand. “Iwaizumi Hajime.” He looked him up and down again before continuing. “Do you always introduce yourself like James Bond?”

Oikawa’s eyes lit up in pure excitement. No one, _no one_ had ever understood that reference. He had to explain it to his two friends, showing them the movies afterwards. They still don’t understand his obsession with it. “Yes. It’s one of the things I do best.”

Oikawa squeezed his hand, attempting a firm handshake. His dad had always told him that a man with a weak shake wasn’t worth the time. Oikawa wanted to show that he was definitely worth this man’s time. Iwaizumi squeezed back, much more forceful. Oikawa’s dad would like him.  

Iwaizumi smirked, breaking their contact as he turned to leave. Oikawa didn’t know what to do. Would he ever see this man again? He _wanted_ to see him again. He didn’t want to sound desperate but being the one doing the work was fucking _hard_. “Wait. Can I get your number now?”

Iwaizumi stopped, turning only his head to look at Oikawa. His expression was soft, all anger drained away. “I’m flattered, but I have to be somewhere. Thanks again.”

Oikawa stood frozen in the middle of the aisle, defeated, as he watched Iwaizumi walk away. If he had no intention of furthering the conversation, why did he even give his name?

Oikawa turned towards the jars of pasta sauce, shoulders sagged. This was the second time in his life he’d been turned down, and it was from the same damn person.

 

* * *

 

“What can I get you guys tonight?”

Oikawa was running around, refilling drinks while taking new orders. Friday’s were always the busiest days, bringing in groups of college students who played pool in the back, while others who came in alone lined the bar. Some would flirt with Oikawa, and he’d keep it going, in hopes of a bigger tip.

“Whatever’s on draft.”

Oikawa nodded, offering a smile as he filled two glasses to the brim with Miller Lite. Beer was Oikawa’s least favorite form of alcohol. It tasted like piss water. Heavy vodka that smelt like nail polish remover tasted better than this shit.

_I’ll never understand how people can drink this,_ he thought.

He placed the glasses down, thanking the two guys for the tip as they made their way over to play darts. Oikawa began to wipe down the bar where no one was sitting, washing some glasses afterwards.

The brunette never would’ve thought that being a bartender would be so fun. Sure, there were those customers who were assholes, and the ones who didn’t tip, but he enjoyed everything else about it. The people who would come in alone were the entertainers. They would tell Oikawa of how awful their lives were at the moment or some crazy stories while getting shitfaced. They always proved to be interesting. One guy had told him how he went skydiving, and his parachute never opened, so he aimed for a lake. Long story short, he married the nurse who had saved him. On the other end, some of them striked up the best conversations, holding Oikawa’s attention all night. Those ones usually came home with him.

He even got to enjoy the occasional bar fight here and there. They wouldn’t be so enjoyable if he was the one who had to break them up. Thankfully the boss was there most nights when it happened, so he never had to worry about it.

Oikawa turned towards the new man who sat down, walking over to him from the other end of the bar. “What can I get-”

Oikawa’s question was cut short when the man looked up from the drink menu on the bar. None other than Iwaizumi Hajime had walked in, returning Oikawa’s gaze with a surprised one of his own.

Oikawa regained control, realizing this was his place. He walked closer to the bar, leaning over right in front of those dark green eyes. “Who’s following who now?”

Iwaizumi sat silently, his gaze never submitting to the brunettes. “Rum and coke.”

Oikawa’s grin widened, nodding as he made his way to put together the drink.

_A man with taste_ , he mused.

Oikawa placed his drink down, his smile growing even wider. What was wrong with him? “Ready to give that number over yet?”

Iwaizumi regarded him, sipping his drink. His expression was soft, just like the day prior. Oikawa couldn’t help but notice how his shoulders drooped, as if he’d been defeated. Oikawa knew that feeling all too well.

Iwaizumi’s gaze fell on Oikawa’s face again. “I already said no thanks.”

“Is it because of that boyfriend of yours? He seemed to enjoy the thought.”

Confusion swam across Iwaizumi’s face. “What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? You stormed out of that coffee shop when I said I’d be down for a threesome with you and your boyfriend.”

Iwaizumi remained silent, slowly trying to connect the dots, as if he wasn’t present during this exchange. “Suga isn’t my boyfriend, but when did you offer a threesome?”

Oikawa opened his mouth, only to close it again. He really didn’t catch onto the fact that he offered himself up for a new kinky sex fantasy for the two of them? What the hell did he think he meant then? And why had he gotten so angry if it wasn’t because of that? “Are you naturally dense?”

Iwaizumi grimaced, not pleased with the accusation. “I’m not the one ignoring all my other customers.”

_Shit._

Oikawa offered one more face splitting grin, before tending to the rest of his bar.

 

* * *

 

Iwaizumi ordered five more drinks after his first one. A girl across the bar bought him a shot as well, which he thanked her for before drinking it. The alcohol seemed to have an effect on his lips, because he had begun to talk to the bartender more and more throughout the night.

Oikawa had found out that Iwaizumi loved the piano more than anything. He was currently attempting to make his own piece because he wanted to be remembered, like his favorite composer, Mozart.

Oikawa wanted nothing more than to learn more about him. “So, do you get paid to play in that orchestra?”

Iwaizumi chuckled, shaking his head as he swallowed his drink. “No, no. I fucking wish. They needed a last-minute fill in, and I was lucky enough to get it. I just get paid to make flowers look good.”

“So you’re a gardener?”

He hummed, pondering the question before answering. “I mean yes? But no. I just work at a flower shop.”

Oikawa couldn’t picture this man in a small shop, surrounded by flowers all day. It must be an interesting sight.

Iwaizumi was actually a great conversationalist. He dodged questions that he deemed too personal, replying with different related information instead. He’d dropped out of college his first year, never giving a reason. Oikawa thought he might leave after he questioned him why, but Iwaizumi just smiled, asking Oikawa what he was in college for.

They slowly got to know each other, small seemingly insignificant things, but learning nonetheless. Oikawa perked up when they started talking about astronomy, listing off numerous facts about their solar system. Iwaizumi’s eyes never left the brunette’s as he rambled on, finding all the new information interesting.

Oikawa asked the shorter male what he had majored in before he dropped out. Iwaizumi shrugged, telling him that he was undecided, never finding anything interesting enough to pursue. “My roommate was annoying as fuck, too. He just screamed at his game all night while getting drunk.”

“Yeah, mine, too, except he was constantly high instead. I wish he would’ve played video games with me.”

Iwaizumi handed his empty glass over, as Oikawa refilled it. “You scream at your TV over Call of Duty all night?”

The bartender washed some glasses as he shook his head. The bar finally thinning out, most people going home or to another bar. “No. I mean, I’ve played that, but I live for the old ones, like GameCube and Nintendo 64.”

“Oldies but goldies.”

Oikawa laughed. “Exactly! I could play those all day.” He moved to the other side of the bar, sitting next to Iwaizumi as they rambled on about nostalgic childhood games, TV shows and memories. Oikawa found himself smiling a lot more than normal. Real, genuine smiles at that. Iwaizumi had kept him company for about three hours now, opening up more and more every minute. Sure, they just met eight days ago, but Oikawa couldn’t help but feel comfortable with him as they teased each other all night, as if they were in middle school.

“So, if Suga-san isn’t your boyfriend, what is he?”

“My best friend. We’ve been together since middle school. Best guy you’ll ever meet.”

Iwaizumi had a smile on his face as he said it, causing a pang of jealousy to run down Oikawa’s spine. Unnecessarily so, but all the same. Oikawa took a deep breath before continuing, preparing himself for the answer he hoped he wouldn’t get. “So, think I can I get that number now?”

Iwaizumi set down his glass, empty now, before standing up, fishing out his wallet to pay. “Thanks, but I can’t. I enjoyed talking to you though.”

Oikawa mirrored his actions, standing up on the other side of his bar stool. “Wait.” Oikawa attempted his best facade before continuing. “Aren’t you going to wait to take me home?”

Iwaizumi smiled, gently. “I don’t have time for that,” and walked out the door.

Oikawa watched the pianist leave, unable to place his own emotions. Was he pissed? Maybe upset, or even sad. Why did he care though? They barely knew each other, and Iwaizumi shot down every advance that he made. Still, that didn’t stop the excitement Oikawa felt when he thought about him.

With a heavy sigh, Oikawa returned behind the bar to tend to the few stragglers that were too drunk for another round.


	3. Chapter 3

Oikawa prided himself on being a patient man, but this was getting ridiculous.

It had been two weeks since he’d seen Iwaizumi at his bar. He thought they hit it off, finally having an actual conversation. Even though he turned him down for the third time, Oikawa was confident that Iwaizumi would continue to show up. For the alcohol or friendly company, Oikawa didn’t care.

The brunette isn’t even completely sure _why_ he cares about the man in the first place. True, he’d never been rejected before, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth, but that can’t be the only reason. Even if Iwaizumi had said yes, would he have just taken him home, fucked him and called it a day? Oikawa grimaced at the thought, mainly because he didn’t have his naked body pressed against his at the forefront of his thoughts, which was even odder.

“What do you think? Are you okay with turning this in?”

Oikawa was pulled from his thoughts, turning back to his lab partner, Tendou. The only student in his physics class to rival his grades. His hair was sticking straight up as always, bright red like a stop sign. His eyes drooped with drowsiness, much like Oikawa’s.

Oikawa didn’t talk much, not to anyone who wasn’t Kuroo, Tsukishima or a customer he wanted a bigger tip from. So, when Tendou had asked him to partner up to make the Rube Goldberg Machine, Oikawa was pleasantly surprised. This way he wouldn’t be stuck doing all the work, and they could possibly even bounce ideas off each other. “Yeah, looks good to me.”

Tendou nodded, turning his attention away from the brunette. They didn’t conversate much, other than for the project, and that was perfectly fine with Oikawa. He welcomed it actually. This way he could get lost in his thoughts again, wondering why he’s so hung up on a man who continuously turned him down.

It was odd, he thought. Oikawa might not be into the second date thing, or even a first date, but he would never lead someone into a conversation, (for more than three hours mind you), and leave the other person hanging. Oikawa was more straightforward and to the point. He’d show his interest when a guy could say more than ‘nice ass’ and then follow them back to their place. They’d fuck, and he’d leave.

Oikawa hadn’t slept with Iwaizumi, nor had he had any luck in going any further than leaving home plate. When they’d been hitting it off at the bar, Oikawa found the green-eyed man fascinating. Not in an experiment type of way, but in the type that he wanted to learn everything there was about him. Introduce him to Kuroo and Tsukishima, meet this Suga guy and _do_ things with him. Oikawa hadn’t had to even fake a smile. He was genuinely happy talking away the night with him about any and everything.

Tendou cleared his throat as he got up, gathering up some books and placing them back on their respective shelves in the library. Oikawa watched him lazily, eyes slipping around the rest of the room. It was his favorite spot on campus. No one bothered him here, and it was quiet. He didn’t particularly like others, but he didn’t like being at home alone either, left to sink into his thoughts. The library was the perfect medium.

Tendou came back and gathered his things. “I’m gonna turn this in then. If that’s okay with you.”

Oikawa gave him a silent nod, watching the tall redhead turn and leave.

 

* * *

 

“If you could have one superpower, what would it be?”

Oikawa hummed, sipping on his hot chocolate that was still too hot to gulp down. “Probably time travel.”

They were seated next to a window, in the coffee shop that Oikawa had first talked to Iwaizumi in. Kuroo insisted that they’d have to come again, bringing Tsukishima with them, and so they did.

Tsukishima turned his attention to his boyfriend. The boyfriend in question was currently shoving more whip cream into his mouth, giving him yet another white mustache. “Ith poweths.”

“If I had my superpower, I would go back to not witness how disgusting you are first hand.”

Tsukishima tossed him a napkin to clean himself up, a chastising look on his face. They definitely had the whole married coupled act down. Kuroo gratefully took the paper, wiping himself up and clearing his throat. “I _said,_ ice powers.”

“I can’t understand you when your mouth’s full.”

Kuroo smirked. “You don’t need to understand me when my mouth is full of your-”

“Gross!” Oikawa shoved his hand over Kuroo’s mouth to shut him up. Tsukishima’s face was a mixture of embarrassment and of one trying to hold back laughter. He always tried his damnedest not to give into the bedhead’s antics, insisting he isn’t funny.

Not that Oikawa had never heard their sex stories before. Some of them were pretty funny, while others he couldn’t ever get the image out of his head. It wasn’t gross per say, but he didn’t need to have the thought of his two beautiful friends naked bodies on top of each other in his mind. Some things were better left to the imagination, but thanks to Kuroo’s big mouth, not much was left to Oikawa's.

Kuroo licked Oikawa’s hand to make him move, earning an annoyed complaint from the brunette. “What about you Tsukki? What’s your power?”

Tsukishima pondered as he took another long gulp of his coffee. “Invisibility. Or maybe force fields.”

Oikawa narrowed his eyes. “So, you’d wanna be Violet?”

Kuroo nodded, answering before the blonde could process the question. “He’s got the shy look down. That would make me Frozone!” Kuroo’s smirk reached from ear to ear, before slowly dying down as a thoughtful expression crossed it. “But Frozone can’t date Violet. That’s gross, and I’m gay.”

“Are we talking about the fucking Incredibles right now?”

Oikawa grinned, content that he found out what they were discussing without having to be told. Apparently, all those times they’d watched the movie, Tsukishima _had_ paid attention. The blonde actually enjoyed the movie, having it shown to him by Kuroo and himself their first year of friendship. He didn’t like watching it almost every Sunday though.

Kuroo’s smirk returned full force, as his gaze turned to Oikawa. “I bet you’d want to time travel to go back and not get rejected. Or work on your game.”

“You think I’d base my powers off a dude?”

“Who cares! Have you seen him since the bar?” Tsukishima was done with the superpower ordeal, regretting his question. He held Oikawa’s gaze when he asked, looking for any shifts in his facial muscles.

Oikawa just shook his head, sipping on the hot chocolate that was slowly going from scolding to warm. He planned on asking for his number when he saw him again, but that time never came. Instead, he’d whined to his two friends here and there throughout the first week, quitting the second week for the fear of growing annoying.

“Why don’t you just look for him then?” Kuroo never seemed to grasp how creepy he sounded sometimes. “I mean, you know where he works, right?”

“No, I know he works at a flower shop.”

“Okay, but that’s better than nothing right?”

Oikawa opened his mouth to counter but came up empty. Kuroo wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t exactly _right_ either. Did he really expect him to go on a wild goose chase for a guy who turned him down, not once, but three times? Oikawa had been able to charm his way into a good amount of things, but attempting to start stalking someone was a new one. He was actually sitting here, thinking about searching the entire city, in every flower shop, for a fucking guy who would probably turn him down again.

Tsukishima must’ve seen the gears moving, trying to piece together some kind of thought process in the brunette’s mind. “You obviously like this guy. Why not give it a try?”

Oikawa hadn’t expected Tsukishima to be on board with this. He was supposed to be the levelheaded one of the three, warning them when they’d be on the verge of doing something extremely idiotic, or potentially dangerous.

Not getting an answer, Tsukishima began again. “What’ve you got to lose?”

Oikawa gazed at his reflection in his hot chocolate. Tsukishima might’ve had a point. He could sit here, wallowing in his rejection, continuously thinking about Iwaizumi. Or he could go out there and try to make something happen, no matter how hard.

The latter decision won out, as he stood to leave. “Fine.”

 

* * *

 

Oikawa absolutely should’ve thought this through more.

First of all, he didn’t even know of that many flower shops. It’s not like he went out buying flowers all the time. The only one he’d known of off the top of his head was on the way to university. Iwaizumi wouldn’t be there, because he probably would’ve seen him before. He checked it regardless.

After an hour of searching, googling and freezing, he’d found four flower shops, none of them harboring the green-eyed guy he was looking for.

Oikawa still had twenty shops left in the ten-mile radius to check. This was exhausting, and he was starting to lose the confidence he had. There wasn’t even a guarantee that he’d be working when Oikawa showed up. Maybe looking around town like an old school detective wasn’t the best idea after all. Especially when it was cold as _fuck_ outside.

Oikawa huffed in defeat, his breath fogging up in front of him. As he watched it evaporate, a familiar head of gray hair came into his field of vision. It was just what he needed.

“Suga-san!” Oikawa yelled over the crowd walking on either side of him as the character in question turned to face whoever was calling him.

His brown eyes were as soft as they were in the coffee shop on the first and only day they met, mixed with mild confusion. He was dressed heavier than before, with dark jeans and a zipped up green jacket, topped off with a white scarf. He was much shorter than Oikawa, but his face was flawless, except for a beauty mark right below his left eye. Oikawa thought that made him even more endearing.

“Uh, you’re the guy from the coffee shop.” He searched his memory for a name. “Mr. Threesome, right?”

Oikawa blushed at that, mainly because Suga-san said it with such a bright smile on his face, instead of one filled with annoyance or anger (like the one Iwaizumi had). “Actually, it’s Oikawa.”

Oikawa’s ears were burning from the cold, and his throat was dry from the crisp, dry air. He wasn’t in the mood to put on his normal routine, so he figured he should just cut to the chase. “Can you tell me where Iwaizumi works? I know it’s a flower shop, just not which one.”

Suga’s expression morphed from pleasant to guarded, or maybe something else entirely. He might’ve been shorter, but the aura he was giving off made Oikawa feel small, trapped under a heavy weight that wasn’t there before. He didn’t like it.

“If you don’t tell me, that’s fine.” Oikawa cleared his throat. “I’m still gonna look, but with your help, I won’t have to spend all day doing this extravagant scavenger hunt.”

Suga remained silent, regarding Oikawa up and down several times. “You know how much the piano means to him, don’t you?”

Oikawa was taken aback, not expecting a question where he was looking for an answer. Silently, he gave a hard nod, remembering how much he had talked about it at the bar.

Suga was enjoying the silent treatment, holding Oikawa’s gaze for several seconds before breaking out into a brilliant smile, so large his eyes squinted. “Ez & Em’s Garden.”

Oikawa remembered seeing that on his long list, but wouldn’t have checked it for quite some time, considering it’s on the other side of town. He wasn’t sure what had happened between the two during that exchange, but he was happy it was over. He turned to leave, thanking Suga as he did.

“Oh, and his favorite flowers are tulips!”

Oikawa nodded again, thankful for the new information that he might have never gotten out of Iwaizumi. As Suga disappeared from view, Oikawa couldn’t help but think that he’d never want to get on his bad side.

 

* * *

 

The shop that Iwaizumi worked at was a small, quaint one. It looked family owned, overflowing with flowers of all colors of the rainbow. When Oikawa opened the doors, he was hit with warm air and a heavy scent of fresh cut flowers. A mixture of lavender and citrus overtook him, giving him a slight dizzy spell.

Oikawa had thought that flower shops were bland, separating each flower with itself, apart from each other, almost like a grocery store. This shop destroyed that thought instantly.

Roses were mixed with some purple flowers. Orange mixed with white, some greens arranged with yellow. The doorway was lined with an arch of said colors, lining green vines. Bouquets hung from the ceiling like chandeliers. It reminded him of the venue where he first laid eyes on the pianist.

Oikawa’s eyes roamed, finding two women crouched down, tending to some type of blue flowers off to the side. One had long orange hair, while the other had long, thin black hair. Neither of them matching the description of the man he needed.

The orange haired one turned, noticing Oikawa. “Hello! How can we help you?”

Oikawa fiddled with his hands, thinking if it’d be odd or not to straight out ask for Iwaizumi. He squeezed his hands. “Is Iwaizumi-san here, by any chance?” There was a pause before the ‘san’.

She smiled, standing from her previous position. “He should be behind the counter.” She pointed to the other side of the shop, before raising for voice. “Iwaizumi! You have a customer.”

Oikawa thanked her, hearing hushed whispers between the two women before turning towards the counter. He felt like he was walking down a wedding aisle, with flowers lining either side of him, towards his husband, who just happened to be Iwaizumi, placed on the other side of the counter.

Pleased wouldn’t be the look that described Iwaizumi’s face at the moment. Perhaps surprise, or maybe even awe. His mouth was hung open, eyes wide. Oikawa felt his confidence rise, heart beating just a little faster. “Hi.”

Oikawa’s word seemed to snap Iwaizumi back to reality, because his expression went back to neutral, green-eyes regarding the bartender he never planned on seeing again. “Who’s following who now?”

Oikawa’s smile illuminated his face, hearing his own words used against him. He leaned against the counter, lining his gaze up with the florists. Hip popped out, and head rested in his right hand. Being this close, Oikawa noticed how his jawline seemed more prominent, his biceps a fraction smaller. “Did you stop hitting the gym?”

“I’ve been busy. Can I help you?”

Oikawa hummed, “I’d like to buy some flowers. Any suggestions?”

Iwaizumi regarded him, trying to decide if he was just pushing his buttons. “Roses are always a safe bet.”

“Roses it is then.” Oikawa watched him clip half a dozen from behind him, wrapping them up in paper, followed by some plastic. His fingers were delicate and steady. Oikawa was glad he listened to his friends, because Iwaizumi in a flower shop was a wonderful sight to see.

He turned around, placing the flowers on the counter. “That’ll be ten dollars.”

Oikawa fished out the money, his smile never leaving his face. It wasn’t even forced, he just couldn’t get his facial muscles under control around this man. Whether he was engaging good conversation or not.

“Is this how you get laid? Buy guys flowers?”

Oikawa wasn’t expecting the question, but it worked out for him. “No, but I was thinking of trying something new.” He picked up the flowers, turning around, only to make a three-sixty. He pushed the flowers forward, as the florist’s face swam with confusion. “Iwaizumi, please go on a date with me.”

It wasn’t smooth, in the slightest. No pick-up lines, no sideways winks, no inviting brushes of the skin. Just straightforward and to the point. His face grew warm with embarrassment, hopefully waiting for a different answer than ‘no’.

Iwaizumi didn’t know what he did to keep getting bothered by this guy, but no matter how cold the cold shoulder he gave him was, he kept coming back for more. He only scoffed, “No thank you.”

Well, it’s not like he was expecting anything else.

His heart began to slow, as he placed the flowers back on the counter. Oikawa wasn’t a quitter, and he wasn’t about to start giving up now. He was zero for four, and in sports terms, that’d be a huge failure. Lucky for him, this wasn’t baseball.

Out of ideas, he left the bouquet on the counter, and with a final wink, he turned and left.

 

* * *

 

When Oikawa was younger, he used to watch old romance movies with his mother. She’d cry over them, even though they all ended the same. The guy would mess up after realizing he loved the girl, and then do something heartwarming to win her back. They lived happily ever after.

His mother never showed him a movie in which there was no happy ending. Where the main character didn’t get the girl and had to figure out how to work around it. He could use some inspiration right now.

Kuroo and Tsukishima weren’t much help. Neither of them had dated anyone before the other, and they just stumbled along their own relationship, figuring things out as they went. Kuroo’s big idea was to get a box of doves and set them free right in front of him as Iwaizumi walked out of work. Iwaizumi would realize that he loved him, and they live happily ever after.

Next.

Tsukishima suggested applying to the flower shop, grow closer to him and learn what he likes and dislikes. It might steer him in the right direction of why he keeps getting turned down, or maybe Iwaizumi was simply uninterested. Oikawa didn’t want a second job, or to feel like the creepiest stalker in the world, so he rejected that too.

So here he was, back at square one. He had gone home after his attempt with the flowers to stare at the stars glowing on his ceiling. Denial or not, Oikawa knew that he wanted to take this man out. Wanted to see what makes him smile, what makes him happy, sad, and laugh.

The pianist wasn’t even trying to make advances towards Oikawa, and yet he could feel the chain around the walls surrounding his heart begin to fall. Almost as if Iwaizumi snagged them on himself, and the further he walked away, the looser the chains around his heart became.

Oikawa googled some cute ideas of asking someone out and checked out a couple websites on How to Make Your Dream Guy Like You. He felt like a dumb teenage girl, with a high school crush. It was annoying. All the ideas were stupid, taken from cheesy movies like the kind his mother watched.

That left him with one option.

 

* * *

 

Oikawa prided himself on being a patient man, and that’s why this was the only fitting solution to his problems that he could come up with.

Three times a week, he’d go to Ez & Em’s Garden, buy a half a dozen of whatever flowers Iwaizumi suggested, and ask him out on a date. Each time he asked, Iwaizumi would say ‘no thank you.’

Oikawa was persistent, and it showed. It wasn’t a wasted effort however, because Iwaizumi began conversing more with each visit, asking about Oikawa’s day, and telling the brunette about his. It was just small talk, but it was more than enough for Oikawa for the time being. He was happy that they were talking at all.

Their question and rejection routine lasted for eight visits. Oikawa let himself get rejected twelve times in total, deciding that his lucky number would be thirteen.

Monday, the third week of rejections, and Oikawa was sure he’d get that damn pianist to say yes to him this time. He walked in and up to the counter, wasting no time. “Hey there.”

Iwaizumi turned, a smile on his face. He had a baseball cap on today that read ‘SEIDO’, with a flower stuck between it and his ear. His body was slightly leaner than it was when Oikawa first laid eyes on him. He finally understood what Suga meant when he said the piano was important to Iwaizumi, perhaps the most important thing to him. It seemed to come above everything else.

“The weather’s starting to warm up. Which means our Hippeastrums are blooming. They’re beautiful.” Iwaizumi always had such a soft expression when he talked about which flowers to buy. He’d given Oikawa a nice trivia lesson on all different types, but never his favorite, according to Suga, which he thought was weird.

“I’m not here to buy flowers today.” He smiled at Iwaizumi’s confusion, as he pulled out two tickets. “But I’m still here to ask you out.”

“What’re those?”

Oikawa handed the tickets over, watching Iwaizumi’s face light up as he read the words. His eyes grew wide, going from the tickets to Oikawa, and back again. “How did you- I mean- What?” He ran his thumbs over the tickets, trying to get a hold of himself to form normal words. “How’d you get these!?”

Oikawa just shrugged, as if it was no big deal. In reality, it took him a lot of digging, calling of favors, and a tiny bit of bribing. “I have my ways.”

“What do you mean?! These are tickets to Krishelle Lalich! Her concert’s been sold out for weeks!” His voice cracked at the last word, and Oikawa’s smile grew even wider. Pride surged through him, knowing that the enthusiastic, dumbfounded look on his face was because of him.

“Well, would you wanna go with me?”

“Yes!” He squeaked. Oikawa couldn’t help but laugh, seeing this other side of Iwaizumi was endearing. The florist's cheeks burned with embarrassment. He shoved the tickets back at Oikawa, clearing his throat. “I mean, yeah.”

Oikawa practically jumped in place, his smile so wide it hurt. He knew this would work, but the fact that he finally got a ‘yes’ out of this difficult man, made the past four weeks of groveling worth it.

“Great! Now give me that goddamn number.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might've guessed, I enjoy Oikawa, Kuroo and Tsukishima together, a lot. Oikawa finally got his yes, at the expense of his wallet and extreme patience. Let me know how you're liking this! If you aren't subscribed, I also post on my twitter when I update as well. Until next week!


	4. Chapter 4

Oikawa didn’t _do_ dates, and that was why Kuroo and Tsukishima had come over earlier that afternoon to help him decide what to wear.

Oikawa finally got Iwaizumi to say yes to him. Only problem was, he wasn’t sure how to dress for a first date, let alone to an orchestra. When he went with his two friends, he’d just worn jeans, a sweatshirt and scarf. That felt too mundane, considering how much Iwaizumi was looking forward to this.

He’d gotten his answer on Monday, and still went to the shop and bought flowers two more times that week. Each time however, Oikawa’s body would heat up unnecessarily so, making it harder to breathe, think normally or speak regularly. He’d stumble over several words, earning sly grins from the florist and the occasional laugh when Oikawa started making up his own language.

Oikawa was severely nervous, and severely _fucked._

“Okay, this one or this one?” Oikawa held up two suits, one black and the other gray. He’d had them since his sister’s wedding two years ago, when he’d been asked to be a groomsman for the husband-to-be. Oikawa gladly accepted but didn’t have the correct attire. So, Oikawa’s soon to be brother-in-law took him shopping. He’d bought Oikawa both because every man needs two to choose from (his brother-in-law’s words, not his; he could care less).

Kuroo was rolling on Oikawa’s bed, taking pictures of himself. The more he took, the less clothes he seemed to have on. He’d had his hand in his hair, on his chest, and on his popped-out hip. He even stole Tsukishima’s glasses for a couple, much to the blonde’s dismay.

After he’d gone to the flower shop the first day, they asked Oikawa for a status report. He’d told them that he didn’t try applying there or the doves in a box trick, earning slight whines from both of them. When he told them, two weeks later, that he finally got a yes, they demanded all the details. Kuroo wanted to know what dark magic he’d used on the poor guy. Oikawa scoffed.

“You’re gonna go on a first date in a tux?” Tsukishima walked over, giving a closer once over on both pieces. Tsukishima surprisingly had excellent fashion sense. That is, if he could keep his paint off them. “I mean, if you’re going for a strong impression, this might do the trick.”

Oikawa regarded the suits (which were apparently tux’s; Oikawa couldn’t give less fucks). He didn’t want to come off as stuck up to Iwaizumi. They already knew a good amount about each other, but still. “Well, what do you suggest then?”

“You could wear nice dress pants, a button down with a tie, covered in a sweater?”

Oikawa dug through his closet, looking for said items. It wasn’t as if he was a fashion disaster, but his brain wasn’t working the way he wanted it to, and it was frustrating. The thoughts of Iwaizumi swimming through his mind seemed to be short circuiting some pieces of his brain. Just to be on the safe side, Oikawa would take all the advice he could get.

He found simple black slacks, a teal button down that complimented his brownie colored eyes, a silver tie and white sweater. He pulled it on, one after another, gauging the blonde’s reaction. He knew Tsukishima wouldn’t lie to him, but he wanted absolute certainty. He raised his eyebrows in a questioning gesture, waiting for a response. “Well?”

Tsukishima smiled, nodding his head. That was a good sign.

From the bed, Kuroo pulled his attention away from himself. Regarding Oikawa, he hopped off the bed and strutted over. Pulling Oikawa’s hand towards him, he bent down on one knee. “May I have this dance?”

Oikawa laughed, “Why, of course.”

Kuroo straightened, smiling as he began to lead. They slow danced around his room, Kuroo dipping Oikawa here and there, the smiles never leaving their faces. They were both pretty good dancers, at least when it came to slow dancing. They were good enough not to step on each other’s toes and could tell what the other was thinking in regards to when dipping or twirls would happen.

Tsukishima played music on his phone as he sat on the bed, watching the two most important people to him dance the night away, like none of them had a care in the world.

Kuroo could always read the two of them without having to try. He could tell when something was bothering them, when they were about to break down, when they were happy or when their smile was hiding something else. Each and every time, he knew exactly what to do. Whether it be a corny dad joke, comfort in a silent embrace, a spontaneous road trip or encouraging words. He always knew what was best for them.

They danced around Oikawa’s messy room for what seemed like forever. Tsukishima popped off the bed, asking to steal the brunette for his own dance. The three of them alternating between each other. Oikawa could’ve stayed like that too, had it not been for his upcoming date. He almost forgot about it when the three of them were lost in comfortable silence, filled with soft music.

Slowly they pulled apart from each other. Oikawa made his way to the bathroom to check his hair one last time. When he came back, his friends were waiting for him, expectant eyes locked on the doorway, smiles plastered on their faces. Oikawa blushed, giving a small twirl. “So, I look okay?”

Kuroo only whistled, and Tsukishima rolled his eyes. In unison, they stated, “Flawless.”

“And if he doesn’t think so,” Kuroo got up, trudging over to him, “then he’s an idiot.”

“And you still have us.” Tsukishima added, pulling the three of them into a hug.

Oikawa wanted to cry. Be it the nerves or the unending support he had from these beauties, he didn’t know. He was honestly and truly blessed. He had to remind himself of that every day. Not because he’d forget, but to remember to be extra grateful. “Thanks, guys.”

Oikawa’s thoughts drifted back to the last time he felt like this. When graduation was nearing their senior year, they promised not to reveal where they were going to college until graduation day. They didn’t want to base their decisions off each other, but on what would be best for them academically. They didn’t want to live without each other, having depended on one another for the last four years, but they knew that if they had to, they would.

After they tossed their caps, cheering about graduating, they found each other with their families. Their parents mingled while they hugged each other merrily. When they pulled apart, they were each holding an envelope, the college of choice in the folded paper. With a final nod, they rapidly ripped the envelopes apart, showing where they chose. Their eyes were wide with the realization that they were lucky enough to keep each other in their lives, so close, even longer. It was one of the best days of Oikawa’s life.

“Okay,” Oikawa cleared his throat, “time to get out. Iwaizumi should be here soon.”

“But I wanted to give him the overprotective dad speech!”

“Kuroo, you’re not his dad.” Tsukishima gave a final hug before dragging Oikawa’s foster father away as he continued to complain.

 

* * *

 

Oikawa hadn’t been this nervous since high school graduation. He couldn’t stop pacing his small living room, checking his phone for the tenth time to make sure he texted Iwaizumi the right address.

It’d been about a half hour since the beautiful duo left, meaning that Oikawa was left alone with his thoughts, confidence being replaced with more and more nerves. Maybe he should’ve kept them around for a while longer.

A knock at the door made Oikawa’s body jerk. He ran over to the door before pausing. He didn’t want to seem _too_ eager, but he was. He was so fucking excited, and he’d been trying to hold it in since Monday. It was Saturday.

He took a long, deep breath, trying to steady himself and his erratic heartbeat. When he opened the door, his heart went into overdrive.

Iwaizumi fit his suits (or tuxes?) so _goddamn_ well. Lining his body so well, it didn’t leave much to the imagination. From the shoes to the tie, his whole outfit was the same shade of obsidian, the only difference being that the tie had a bit of a shine to it. The dark color of his suit, made his green eyes seem to glow bright, almost as if he had two emeralds sitting where his eyes should be. They ran up and down Oikawa, finally landing on his face. “Hey.”

Oikawa’s face _burned_. He could hear his heart hammering away in overdrive, his head trying to piece together the rubix cube that is simple language. Instead, he turned around, grabbing the flowers he bought earlier, from the kitchen counter. When he came back, he shoved a dozen of purple tulips in his date’s face, not uttering a single word.

Iwaizumi’s eyes widened, before his face melted into a growing smile. He pulled the flowers up to his face, breathing in their scent. “They’re lovely. How did you know?”

“Suga-Suga-san told me.” _For fuck’s sake. Get a grip._

Iwaizumi looked like he wanted to ask more. Ask when and where they had bumped into each other for Oikawa to ever learn new things about him that he had never revealed. Had they been meeting up regularly? Why hadn’t Suga told him? Instead, he decided to give Oikawa a bit of trivia. “Do you know what purple tulips stand for?”

Oikawa shook his head, locking his door behind him. The two of them fell into step side by side, making their way to the elevator. Oikawa hit the down button, and once they got in, Iwaizumi continued.

“Well, tulips in general stand for perfect love. Purple tulips hold the special meaning of royalty though. Men give women, or their significant other in our case.”

Oikawa’s face grew a brighter shade of crimson, his heart beating impossibly fast, or not at all. Oikawa couldn’t tell. Iwaizumi’s smile only grew wider at how beautiful he looked, even when he was flustered.

“Anyways, they’d give them a purple tulip to tell them that they are their king or queen. The ruler of their heart.” Oikawa seemed to refuse to talk, so Iwaizumi continued. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

“No-no problem. I’m glad you like them.” _If you don’t get your shit together, I swear to god._

The elevator came to a stop, and they made their way out. Side by side, they walked to the venue.

 

* * *

 

Oikawa thought that shoving himself in the closest dumpster would probably be the best idea.

The venue was a short ten block walk from his apartment. In that time frame, he’d managed to trip over nothing, three times, catching himself before he could eat concrete; have a coughing fit when he tried to start his own conversation, and last but not least, he almost ran into a lamp post.

He’d been paying attention to Iwaizumi as he rambled on about Krishelle Lalich, and how amazing the performance would be tonight. When he talked about it, his eyes lit up and he began talking with his hands. Oikawa loved every second of it. Loved it so much that he embarrassed himself multiple times in their short walk, earning side-clenching laughs from Iwaizumi.

_At least he thinks I’m funny._

The weather was finally warming up, and neither of the two had to wear any jackets. When the wind blew, it grew chilly; but without it, it was comfortable. Oikawa was eternally grateful for spring. It was his favorite season after all. The snow melted, he could store away his heavy coats, and the trees began to bloom. Everything was most beautiful in the spring.

Perhaps that’s why he and Iwaizumi were finally going on a date, because Iwaizumi was beautiful.

Later rather than sooner, Oikawa plugged the wires back in inside his brain and successfully started conversing with his date. He’d asked how his day was, told him how nice he looked and talked about how bored he was waiting to be picked up (which was far from the truth).

The conversation flowed easily, as it did with their flower shop visits. Oikawa probably wouldn’t stop visiting him, even if he got a second date with the dark-haired man. He knew Iwaizumi liked talking to him when he came in, sometimes he even seemed to be waiting for it. That only made him wonder. “Hey, how come you haven’t visited me at work?”

It was a fair question, and one that had just dawned on him now. Oikawa didn’t mind frequenting the shop, he looked forward to it in fact. However, Iwaizumi never came in the bar after that first time. Thinking on it, it bothered Oikawa. Did he think that Iwaizumi didn’t care as much as he thought? Maybe he was just reading too much into it.

Iwaizumi shrugged his shoulders as they rounded the last corner, the venue towering in front of them. “I don’t drink much.”

Well, that did make sense. Why go to a bar for a water and hot bartender? However, Oikawa was that hot bartender, so it didn’t make sense.

They made their way up the window, Oikawa handing over the tickets, leading Iwaizumi and himself inside. The interior was just as beautiful as it was before. Brilliant chandeliers still reflected the rainbow through every glass shard on it, the columns looking as if they came straight from the heavens.

Their seats were close, but not as close as they had been the first time. They were seated twenty rows back, thankfully on the aisle. Oikawa opted for the aisle seat, because his legs were longer. Iwaizumi argued that they were hardly two inches apart.

Settling in, Oikawa didn’t find himself admiring the auditorium as he had before. Instead, his gaze fell on Iwaizumi. Excitement had the pianists eyes sparkling like stars, fixated on the closed curtains. Their arms brushed, sharing the same arm rest. Oikawa’s heart started beating faster, but his body seemed to relax at the contact. His body seemed confused between anxiousness and comfort. The unknowns of Iwaizumi made his blood pump harder, but his presence had a calming effect to it.

Oikawa let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, as the curtains parted, and Iwaizumi began fidgeting in his seat.

 

* * *

 

The concert was phenomenal. Oikawa could see why it had been sold out for as long as it was.

Krishelle was a natural. The piano rang out, obeying her every whim, filling every empty space with beautiful melodies. She played as if the piano was an extension of her body.

Iwaizumi couldn’t be torn away for one millisecond. Oikawa had the inkling to try and move closer, try to hold his hand, but the look on his face kept his body at bay. Iwaizumi was a kid in a candy store, or one that had visited Disneyland for the first time. Oikawa couldn’t keep his eyes off him.

After the longest standing ovation, the two decided on food. The walk to the diner was filled with Iwaizumi’s nonstop rambling about the performance. Oikawa’s heart wasn’t beating at an odd pace anymore, as he intently listened and watched Iwaizumi’s body speak his thoughts as much as his mouth did.

The food was good, the conversation even more so. Iwaizumi was talking about himself without Oikawa having to ask too many questions to get him to start. He’d told him about his high school life, how he and Suga met, the games he used to play as a kid and the customers he got at the shop, who spilled their life stories to him when he didn’t ask. Apparently, those kinds of people didn’t only come to bars.

Oikawa told some horror stories with customers of his own. He told him about Kuroo and Tsukishima, and how they became as close as they were. He even told Iwaizumi how he wanted to discover another planet or travel into space, being remembered as the first to conquer such feats. Iwaizumi told him between bites that planets had already been discovered, and we’ve been to the moon. Oikawa assured him that his discovery would be incredible, being a planet with water or finding aliens. It’d blow going to the moon out of the water.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, finishing up the remainder of their food. It was a small diner that he’d never been to before. Iwaizumi suggested it, and the food was pretty good.

Once they finished their food, that’d mean they’d go their separate ways. Oikawa didn’t want that. Would this be the one and only time Iwaizumi said yes? Would there be a second date? Oikawa’s mind started swimming with similar questions, growing uneasy. He’d had such a great time with Iwaizumi. More so than he’d thought. All the pining had been worth it, but he didn't want it to end here.

Oikawa’s body reacted to the thoughts in his mind. Before he realized what was happening, he’d reached over the table, fixing his hand in Iwaizumi’s. “I’d really like to do this again.”

Oikawa’s smile was soft as he gauged Iwaizumi’s reaction. He didn’t scowl or pull his hand away. His eyes held a dull glow, looking hesitant. As if he didn’t know what to say, but knew he didn’t want to say no.

Oikawa squeezed his hand, as if he needed some form of reassurance. “Can I hear you play again?”

That seemed to do the trick. Iwaizumi physically relaxed, nodding his head as he went to pay. That had been a five-minute argument once the check came. Oikawa said he should pay because he’s the one who asked him out, but Iwaizumi insisted he had to pay because he knew the tickets weren’t cheap.

Oikawa wasn’t used to giving in to others, but Iwaizumi had been stringing him along since day one, whether he knew it or not.

 

* * *

 

Thank _fuck_ the walk back was a normal one. Oikawa managed to walk, putting one foot in front of the other successfully; didn’t almost walk into anything; and managed to speak normally.

Iwaizumi’s place was a short four blocks away from the diner, which meant he lived eight blocks from Oikawa. How had he never stumbled upon Iwaizumi before? They didn’t live far from each other. He didn’t frequent flower shops, but with the close radius, they should’ve bumped into each other sooner or later, right?

The first thing Oikawa noticed when they were inside Iwaizumi’s apartment, was the abundance of flowers. They lined the windows, occupied the coffee table, decorated the back of his counters and laid on top of a gorgeous chestnut grand piano.

He kicked his shoes off, investigating the flowers. There were roses, daffodils, daisies, dahlias, marigolds, and now the purple tulips that Iwaizumi was scattering overtop the piano, joining the red roses. Oikawa did one more turn around before it hit him.

These were all the flowers he had bought at Iwaizumi’s work.

“You kept all these?” He eyed Iwaizumi incredulously. Oikawa never thought about what happened to the flowers after he left them at the shop. He just figured they put them back, or lined the doorway with them, adding to the arch full of them. No, he never would’ve imagined that he would bring them home, decorating his home with them.

Iwaizumi shrugged, grabbing two waters from the fridge after throwing the plastic that covered the tulips away. “I wasn’t going to let them go to waste. I could use the interior decoration anyways.”

“Why are the roses the only ones not in water?” They’d been long wilted, apparently never being put in water. Those were the first flowers that Oikawa had purchased too.

“When roses wilt, they bend, mimicking the bowing of a head. I hate the way they look.” He handed Oikawa his water as he made his way over to the piano, picking one of the roses up. It looked brittle, as if the wind could blow it away into dust. Iwaizumi handled it with such care. “When they wilt this way, they dry up, but remain upright.” He hummed, sitting down before the keys. “I usually hang them upside down, but they compliment the chestnut, dont’cha think?”

Oikawa nodded, because they did. The deep crimson of the roses complimented the light brown perfectly. Almost as if they were made for each other. Oikawa laid over the back of the couch, facing Iwaizumi as he began to play.

If love at first sight existed, Oikawa thought that it would’ve happened to him. Not once, but twice.

When he’d watched Iwaizumi at the concert the very first time, he was amazed. He found the pianist gorgeous, his face pure bliss as he commanded the keys before him. Oikawa had never seen anything like it. This large instrument bent down before Iwaizumi, as he demanded each chord to be played perfectly.

Watching Iwaizumi play now, was like watching a completely different person. Not that he doubted it was still the same man, but the sounds were polar opposites. At the concert, the music was loud, pounding into his heart, thundering out for everyone to hear. Now, it sounded like he was barely touching the keys. It was light, making Oikawa’s eyes burn with tears, and he couldn’t grasp why.

The moonlight from outside flooded in, basking Iwaizumi in shadows, turning him and the chestnut keys into one. His fingers danced across the keys, as his body flowed with them like water. A silhouette of a smile decorated his features as it did once before, but it was softer this time. Not dominating the piano, but dancing with it. It was beautiful, and so was the man playing it.

Oikawa’s eyes grew heavy, as he shut them to fully embrace the music that was lolling out. His heart beat slow and his muscles relaxed. His senses were filled with the sweet smell of the numerous flowers surrounding him, making him picture the walk down the aisle of flowers right up to Iwaizumi. Right as he made it to the counter, a cry rang out from the piano, ripping Oikawa’s eyes open and onto Iwaizumi.

His body was still, face shadowed by the light from outside. Oikawa might not know much about classical music, but he was sure it wasn’t supposed to sound like that. He could feel the air growing heavy, so Oikawa turned to teasing in an attempt to lighten the mood. “I don’t think that’s the way it goes.”

Oikawa couldn’t see the glare, but he could _feel_ it staring through him. No matter how hard he tried, he could never get a read on him. He’d feel as if Iwaizumi opened two doors for him to walk through, only for them to be in the opposite direction. It was frustrating to say the least, and it tolled on the patience Oikawa had been saving up his whole life.

This man was unlike any other person Oikawa had met. Which was what made him all the more interesting. He knew Iwaizumi had a great time, and it wasn’t only because of the concert. Yes, that was a huge factor, and yes this made him sound cocky, but he could just feel how Iwaizumi seemed to ease up tonight. He talked about himself, about his past. Paid for the food. Hell, he even invited Oikawa back to his place just to play the piano for him, _because he asked._

If he wasn’t the slightest bit interested in Oikawa, none of that would be happening.

Right?

Oikawa rolled over, feeling around the coffee table for a remote, before turning on the TV and searching through the guide. Oikawa wasn’t good with awkward silences, so some background noise never hurt. Iwaizumi seemed to catch onto his thoughts, as he sauntered over, plopping down on the couch next to him.

“Whaddya wanna watch?”

“Anything’s fine.”

Oikawa continued scrolling through the list until his eyes fell on a familiar title. “How about this?”

“The Incredibles?”

“It’s my favorite movie!”

Iwaizumi seemed to relax finally, leaning back against the couch. Their shoulders rubbed against one another at the act, and Oikawa could feel his heart swell. The brunette couldn’t be happier that he seemed to pick the right course of action to defuse the atmosphere.

Iwaizumi giggled, yes _giggled_ and it was the sweetest sound Oikawa had ever heard. He turned to peak at what his face looked like when he did that, and it was just as soft. His lips curved, green colored eyes squinting at the corners and his shoulders shook slightly. Oikawa’s heart clenched again.

Iwaizumi turned his head to him, noticing that Oikawa didn’t laugh at the movie when he did. Their eyes met, and Oikawa could feel the oxygen leaving his lungs, their noses so close they almost touched. Beautiful was an understatement for this man.

“What’s so funny?”

Iwaizumi shrugged, facing forward again. With his gaze gone, Oikawa could feel the heat leaving his body. “I was just thinking about how I’m going to have to shove kids out of the way to see the new one.”

In that moment, Oikawa realized three things; Kuroo and Tsukishima would love Iwaizumi, they could go watch the sequel together, and no matter how hard Iwaizumi pushed Oikawa away, he wasn’t going anywhere.

They talked about the movie after that. About which parts they liked and which parts they loved. They recited lines they had memorized and talked about what they think would happen in the sequel.

Oikawa’s eyes grew heavy, the scent of flowers and Iwaizumi filling him from head to toe, and before he knew it, they had lulled themselves to sleep on one another. Oikawa on Iwaizumi’s shoulder, and the latter resting on the brunette’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're still enjoying this, because I'm having so much fun with it! I had to pump this out earlier this week because I was busy for my birthday and I'm so glad I was able to! Yes, there is an underlying theme of The Incredibles, my boys are nerds. If you're wondering what song Iwaizumi was playing, here's a link.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQO7Cka4CMY


	5. Chapter 5

Oikawa was woken up to the smell of coffee and the low murmur coming from the TV.

His body was slumped in an awkward position, neck hanging down towards his shoulder. When he moved it upright, a sharp pulling pain ran down, slowing his movements. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, peering around until his eyes landed on Iwaizumi. He’d switched out of his all black suit, into sweats that hung off his hip and a worn out t-shirt. 

He watched him walk around his kitchen, fixing coffee into two mugs. His hands handled everything he touched with care, as if it were a side effect from being a pianist.

The flowers surrounding him made Iwaizumi seem fake, like he’d been pulled out of a fairytale. One where he was the quiet prince who needed someone to come along and save him from his silent brooding. 

That someone was Oikawa. 

The brunette stretched his arms above his head, slowly lowering them down his sides as a yawn escaped him. Iwaizumi glanced over, a small smile on his face. “Glad you’re up. I didn’t know how you liked your coffee.”

“Four creams and two spoons of sugar.”

“That sounds fucking terrible.” Iwaizumi walked over, sitting next to Oikawa as he did last night, placing the mugs down in front of them. Even though he made an unpleasant face at Oikawa’s request, he still made his coffee just the way he liked it. 

Oikawa grabbed the mug, letting the heat course through his hands as he hummed, sipping it down. “My neck’s killing me.”

“Yeah, my shoulder’s kind of tense, too.”

“This is why I hate sleeping on the couch. It always fucks me up.” He took another sip, letting the caffeine course through his veins as Iwaizumi hummed in agreement.

Now that the sun shone through the windows, Oikawa glanced around Iwaizumi’s apartment, noticing things he hadn’t last night. The pianist wasn’t lying about needing interior decorations. He seemed to be a simple man, his apartment was about the size of Oikawa’s. He didn’t have any decorations on the walls or pictures hung up. Just a couch that they were sitting on, a TV, and the main attraction being the piano.

Oikawa would’ve thought that he’d be a mess. Papers scattered over the piano, clothes in the corner or thrown over the back of the couch and snack wrappers around the kitchen. It was a nice surprise, Oikawa being wrong about what he thought Iwaizumi’s living habits were. 

Oikawa’s stomach growled as he took his third sip, giving Iwaizumi a sheepish grin. “I’ve usually eaten already.”

“Are you always up early?”

“Whenever I stay somewhere else. They usually make breakfast too.”

Iwaizumi peered at Oikawa from behind his mug. “Must be nice.”

Oikawa hummed in agreement. In all honesty, that wasn’t true. When he’d have his one night stands, he’d always wake up first and rush out, not speaking a word to the other person. He didn’t want them to think that this one time thing could happen again, turning into a relationship thing, so he got out before they got the chance to ask. If it was someone from the bar, and they came in again after the fact, Oikawa would put on his actor’s facade and pretend as if nothing happened between the two. They always seemed to get the hint thankfully.

Oikawa didn’t wake up first today though, which unsettled him. Even at Kuroo and Tsukishima’s place, he was always the first one up, making them coffee or the occasional breakfast. If they stayed at his house though, he wouldn’t always be the first one up. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t in his own place, his own bed. Maybe it was the fact that he needed time to wake up and prepare himself, mentally and physically, for the day and people he’d encounter when he didn’t have his own bed to roll over on. Either way, it’d been like this since he was young. Now it was changing. 

Oikawa didn’t want this to be a one night stand thing. They didn’t even have sex, let alone hold hands, so it really wasn’t a one night stand at all, and Oikawa was okay with that. He was happy that Iwaizumi had let him in his home and played for him again. He was content.

“How about we get some breakfast then?”

Oikawa was surprised to hear that come from him. He hadn’t expected Iwaizumi to offer to do anything. He thought that the pianist would give him some coffee and send him on his way. Oikawa’s smile grew from ear to ear as he shook his head excitedly. 

“Alright, then let’s go. I’m hungry.” Iwaizumi finished his coffee as he got up. Oikawa watched him as he made his way to what he guessed was his bedroom to change. 

_ Change, huh?  _ Oikawa looked down on himself, remembering he was still in the same outfit he wore last night. It seemed a little over dressed for going to breakfast, but he felt weird asking Iwaizumi for a change of clothes. Instead, he took a deep breath, and got up, mentally preparing himself for the day.

It was an odd change of pace, and Oikawa had already embarrassed himself in front of Iwaizumi all last night, which was weird by itself. Oikawa might not be the most confident person, but he kept that to himself. He always came off as easy going, driven when it came to school, and an asshole when it came to things or people he cared about. He didn’t flaunt his looks, but he knew what he was working with. He never wanted to come off as shy or insecure to let people step all over him as they pleased. He had enough of that in middle school, being the tallest boy in his class. The boys always made fun of him for it and gave him a hard time because most of the girls only talked to or about him.

He would’ve had a harder time in high school too if it wasn’t for his two friends. When he started to take an interest in guys, life became that much more difficult. The boys in his gym class would make comments about Oikawa staring at them, calling him vulgar names and shoving him into the lockers. They weren’t all like this, but it seemed that Oikawa was lucky enough to have them surround him at all hours of the school day. 

Kuroo got suspended once during their freshman year of high school for breaking a kid’s nose. It was the same kid Kuroo watched trip Oikawa in the hall and rip up his notebooks. After he got suspended, Tsukishima remained by his side at all times. They’d meet up between classes, sit together at lunch, and walk home together. Even without Kuroo there, no one seemed to want to face off against Tsukishima. He wasn’t violent like Kuroo, but the piercing gaze he held seemed to keep everyone at bay. Once Kuroo came back, it was always the three of them together.

Iwaizumi came back out, wearing jeans and the same t-shirt he’d been wearing, covered by a light jacket. “Ready?”

Apparently, Iwaizumi didn’t mind going to eat with someone who looked like they were heading out to meet someone important. He didn’t dress himself up to match, nor did he offer Oikawa a change of clothes. Maybe he thought the brunette was the type to not give clothes back once he wore them. 

Oikawa nodded, and followed Iwaizumi out the door.

 

* * *

 

It was chillier than yesterday, as Oikawa stood outside the restaurant they just ate at, watching Iwaizumi walk away from him.

Oikawa didn’t know what happened. The walk over was filled with conversation, Oikawa finding himself more and more comfortable with every breath he took. He didn’t stumble over his words anymore, even though his heart beat faster every time Iwaizumi would smile. They bumped shoulders playfully a couple times and Iwaizumi even held the door for him. Oikawa thought he was the perfect gentleman.

In the hour from them sitting down to Oikawa insisting he pay the bill, the two laughed nonstop. When they weren’t laughing, they were filling the gap with stupid conversation about anything and everything. Oikawa’s face hurt from how much he was smiling. It was a new feeling to him that he rather enjoyed and wanted to keep enjoying. 

Once Oikawa asked what they were doing for the rest of the day, Iwaizumi seemed to withdraw completely, as if they hadn’t just spent the whole previous night and better part of the morning together. He withdrew and everything that Oikawa had worked so hard for went with it. The jokes, the playful touches, the witty banter, the visits, the concert; everything vanished as if it didn’t happen at all. As if Oikawa had dreamt it all.

Iwaizumi didn’t tell him to ‘piss off’ or anything. All he answered with was that he was busy, leaving no room for questioning as to  _ what  _ he was busy with. Oikawa wanted to ask when they’d see each other again, but before he got the chance, Iwaizumi had said his farewells and was out the door. Oikawa followed to watch him go, becoming smaller and smaller until he disappeared from view completely.

Oikawa wanted to scream, or maybe cry. What the fuck had just happened the past few months? This was a huge step, or at least Oikawa thought it had been. 

He’d ran into Sugawara again after the first week of visiting Iwaizumi at work. He’d told him how the stubborn man wouldn’t say yes to him no matter what he tried. 

_ “Is he straight? Is it just me he doesn’t like?” _

_ Sugawara only shook his head, the two making their way into a nearby coffee shop. “No, it’s not that. He’s just-” Sugawara didn’t seem sure  _ what  _ to say his friend was. “He’s complicated.” _

_ Oikawa’s shoulders slumped, the thought ‘I know’ swimming through his mind. The gray-haired man never said that Iwaizumi wasn’t interested in him. So why was he making this so difficult? He also never said he was straight. Which either meant that Iwaizumi  _ did  _ like Oikawa, and just enjoyed watching him grovel. Or Sugawara honestly didn’t know. _

_ “I know this is a long shot, but I think I know something that could get a sure ‘yes’ out of him.” _

That was how Oikawa had found out about the concert. Sugawara was right, it wasn’t easy to get the tickets by any means, but he was positive that is was possible, and needed to get his hands on them. When Iwaizumi had said yes, he knew he had to thank Sugawara. 

Maybe Oikawa did something wrong? Maybe he shouldn’t have basically invited himself over to Iwaizumi’s last night. Maybe he shouldn’t have slept over. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken this as more than anything other than a night out.

_ But it was a date. _ Iwaizumi had picked him up, accepted the flowers, paid for the food, played for him, and  _ fell asleep on him. _ He could’ve easily told Oikawa no to getting food, or no to going back to his place to play for him. He didn’t have to make Oikawa coffee this morning, nor did he have to offer to go out to eat with him. So, what the  _ fuck _ ?

Oikawa’s thoughts were filled with second guessing’s and questioning to what he could’ve done wrong as he unlocked the apartment door in front of him, revealing a bickering duo.

“Look, I said I was  _ sorry. _ ”

“ _ Sorry _ isn’t going to unfuck up my clothes, Tetsu!”

“How was I supposed to know it was bleach and not soap?!”

“It’s called detergent, you idiot! And it says so on the box!”

“Well maybe I was just trying to be nice for once and-” Kuroo stopped as he noticed Oikawa in the doorway, an uncomfortable look on his face. 

“Uh, sorry, I’ll come back later.”

Tsukishima’s gaze followed Kuroo’s, falling on Oikawa as he turned to leave. “No, Tooru. Shit, sorry. Don’t go.”

Kuroo walked over, grabbing Oikawa’s hand before he could think twice about leaving. The couple didn’t argue often, and when they did, it was always about the dumbest of things. Regardless, Oikawa always felt out of place, his friends having a deeper connection with each other than he did with them. It made him feel like an outsider looking in, and he hated it.

Kuroo dragged him over to the couch, sitting Oikawa down and plopping down next to him. “Tell us about your date!”

“And why you’re still wearing what you had on last night,” Tsukishima chimed in as he took the other side of Oikawa, a smirk dancing on his face. 

“Did someone get lucky last night?” Kuroo mirrored Tsukishima’s smirk as they shared a look. Even though they had just been arguing a moment ago, the atmosphere was light, as if they’d just woken up next to each other.

Oikawa shook his head, as he sank into the couch, retelling of last night's events. Neither of them interrupted Oikawa, listening intently, always the best listeners. He appreciated them greatly for that.

Tsukishima hummed once he finished his story. “It sounds to me like someone has a crush.”

“A big crush at that.”

Oikawa turned his head between the two, cheeks warming up ever so slightly. “Shut up. Even if I did, he doesn’t seem to feel the same.”

“That’s not true.” Kuroo slung his arm around Oikawa’s shoulder. “You’re a catch, and he seems to know that.”

“True, just because he doesn’t want to spend every waking minute with you doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you.” Tsukishima ruffled his hair, knowing how much he hated it. 

Oikawa swatted his hand away, groaning in protest. “But it’s Sunday! Who’s busy on a Sunday?”

“Us, you idiot.” Kuroo smirked before he continued. “Every Sunday in fact! Lucky for you, we already have the ice cream!”

“Lucky for me? You’re the one  _ in charge  _ of ice cream. So, isn’t it ‘lucky you’?”

“Tomato potato, same thing.”

“Tetsu, it’s tomato  _ tomato _ .” Tsukishima explained, making the second pronunciation sound like ‘toh-mah-toh’.

Kuroo groaned as he got up, muttering a ‘whatever’. When he came back, he had a pair of sweats and hoodie in hand. “Here.”

“I can just go home and change, it’s okay.” 

“No, put these on, you’re already here.” Kuroo tossed the clothes in his.

Kuroo and Oikawa were about the same height, a damn 1.9 inches separating them. Tsukishima was the tallest, a nice 1.3 inches taller than Kuroo, which he always complained about. Oikawa was the tallest around everyone else except these two. It was a nice difference, and he only got annoyed sometimes when they would tease him about not being able to reach things without standing on his tiptoes (which Kuroo had to do too but he never showed it).

The blonde seemed to understand, nudging Oikawa and telling him ‘come on’ before disappearing into his room and changing himself.

Tsukishima came back in sweats of his own and a couple blankets. He ushered Oikawa to go change. Once he came back, he and Kuroo were snuggled under the blankets, ice cream at the ready with multiple DVD’s set out on the table. Oikawa smiled to himself as he made his way over to burrow under some blankets of his own.

 

* * *

 

Three days.

Three days of making sure his phone was fully charge in hopes of a text message. Three days of getting his homework and studying done early in hopes of plans. Three days of whining to his friends. Three days that felt like an eternity. 

Oikawa felt pathetic. He never had to text anyone first. He hadn’t given his number out since right after graduation. Between then and freshmen year of college, Oikawa hadn’t been on any ‘dates’, had any one night stands, or attempted to make conversation with anyone. He’d just kept to himself, stargazing during the summer, and hanging out with Kuroo and Tsukishima.

Before graduation however, when he’d give his number out, he hardly had to wait a couple hours before the other person would text him some funny joke, or a simple conversation starter. Either way, he’d never had to wait  _ this  _ long, nor did he ever contemplate texting  _ first _ .

In these three days, Oikawa went to the flower shop Monday. Much to his dismay, Iwaizumi wasn’t working. He’d asked the two women who worked there, and they said he wasn’t scheduled for the day. Oikawa found it weird but tried not to dwell on the thought. 

It was Wednesday when Oikawa walked in the shop for the second time that week. He couldn’t find the guy he was looking for behind the counter. When he asked if he was there, the women told him that Iwaizumi had called off that day. 

Oikawa left, feeling defeated in the oddest way. Was Iwaizumi trying to avoid him? No, he wouldn’t sacrifice his job for that, and he’d have to quit his job  _ entirely  _ if he never wanted to see Oikawa again. Was he sick? Maybe, but how sick does someone have to be not to send a text? Did he hate the date and regret giving Oikawa his number? 

Oikawa walked along the sidewalk, too deep in his thoughts as he ran into several people, muttering apologies without looking up. 

Oikawa was stubborn, but Iwaizumi appeared even more so. He was so frustrating, and it drove Oikawa up a wall. He’d met his match in Iwaizumi it seemed, which was the exact reason he wasn’t giving up on this difficult man. 

With a final sigh, he yanked his phone out, typed a simple ‘hey’ and hit send. 

 

* * *

 

Oikawa had used up the last of his patience he had stored up. After he texted Iwaizumi, he received radio silence from the man. Oikawa couldn’t tell if he was more pissed at the fact that that Iwaizumi ignored him, or that he took the initiative to text first and was  _ ignored _ .

He couldn’t steer his thoughts away from Iwaizumi no matter how hard he tried. These past three days were an internal struggle for him. It seemed the more Iwaizumi pulled away, the more Oikawa’s heart beat at the thought of him. The brunette was past a simple crush now, and he knew it. He probably pasted the crush phase the minute he walked into that flower shop and thought he was walking down an aisle to Iwaizumi.

The bartender didn’t flirt much with his customers anymore either. He’d still give them that award winning smile and keep up a decent conversation where it seemed warranted, but his heart wasn’t in it, even if he knew he’d earn more tips. 

Oikawa had used up the last of his patience, and that was why his legs had carried him to where he was right now. He’d been second guessing himself the entire time, not wanting to come off as creepy or odd, but not having any other choice in the matter. As he made his way up to the door, he could hear the low hum of a piano singing out. 

Instead of hammering on the door, Oikawa leaned his back against it, closing his eyes as he listened to the careful tapping of the keys. He never had a preference when it came to music, but the sound of Iwaizumi’s fingers against a piano had quickly become an addicting sound to Oikawa. It made his eyes heavy or sent an electric jolt through his body as he watched and listened. If he could listen to him play every day, he would without question.

The music died down until the other side of the door grew quiet. Taking a deep breath and remembering all the different scenarios in his head as to what to say when he saw Iwaizumi, he turned around and knocked on the door. 

As the door opened, revealing a beautiful Iwaizumi, Oikawa forgot everything he practiced in his head. He was barefoot, an old t-shirt falling over his torso and a dark pair of jeans that rose low on his hips, eyes holding nothing but confusion. 

“Hey, uh, what’re you doing here?”

This man had the audacity to ask such an idiotic question. Oikawa could feel his blood rush through his ears, his face turning red. His breaths becoming short and frustrated. “What the  _ fuck _ do you think I’m doing here?!”

Iwaizumi looked like Oikawa punched him, his mouth agape as he watched Oikawa crumble right before him, unsure of what to do. 

“I texted you and you  _ ignored me.  _ You weren’t at work when I went to visit you! I thought we had fun! I thought this was going somewhere!” He stopped to take a breath, his heart threatening to break one of his ribs. “I’m new to this but I know that you had fun. I  _ know  _ you like me. And I  _ know  _ that you know that I like you! So why the  _ fuck  _ are you ignoring me?!” Oikawa’s voice broke, running out of oxygen as if he’d just ran a marathon. He didn’t expect his emotions to take over like this, but finally seeing Iwaizumi again, and after asking such a stupid question, something was lit in Oikawa that wouldn’t let him stop.

Iwaizumi remained silent, standing in his door like a statue, listening to everything Oikawa had to say. He waited for Oikawa to regain some composure before answering. “I did have fun, but I, uh, I’m not really looking for anything like that right now and-”

“Bullshit! That’s such bullshit and you know it!” Oikawa was furious, but more so, he was sad. He’d told himself he wasn’t going to let this man go no matter how hard he tried to run, but Oikawa felt as if he was fighting a losing battle from the start. He never expected he’d feel this way, and it was already too late.

Before he could get anything else out, Iwaizumi was shutting his door, thanking Oikawa again for the tickets, telling him how he really did have fun.

Oikawa would be  _ damned _ . 

His body was shaking, and his skin was on  _ fire.  _ For the second time since he met Iwaizumi, his body reacted to his thoughts and acted on its own. He shoved his foot on the door, stopping it from closing and threw himself forward, his lips colliding with Iwaizumi’s to shut him the  _ fuck _ up. 

Iwaizumi tasted like coffee and syrup. He smelt of the flowers that littered his apartment, and his body was warm against Oikawa’s. Neither of them moved, their lips on one another’s, breathing each other in, trying to grasp what was going on. Oikawa whined from deep in his throat as he pushed himself forward, and Iwaizumi took the invitation, pulling Oikawa against him, his back pushed against the wall. 

Oikawa slammed the door as his fingers ran up and through his hair. Even though the spikes on his head look like they’d be hard, they were the softest thing Oikawa had ever touched. He twirled his fingers through them, pulling his head down, earning a groan from Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi pulled apart from Oikawa, trailing his lips down his neck, peppering kisses and bites all over. Oikawa writhed under the contact, his knees growing weak and mouth cold from loss of contact. 

Oikawa’s only thought was that Iwaizumi tasted so  _ good _ . He’d wanted to do this for so long, and the wait had been worth it. He kept pushing hard against Iwaizumi’s lips as Iwaizumi pulled him closer, their hips grinding against each other’s.

Iwaizumi pushed off the wall, pushing Oikawa down on the couch, following on top of him. He was rough, and Oikawa  _ loved _ it. He lived for this type of contact, but it was more than that. It was longing, that feeling when you can’t hold out any longer and finally give in.

Oikawa pushed his hips up against Iwaizumi as he ran his tongue along the pianist’s bottom lip, demanding for entrance. Iwaizumi obeyed and Oikawa slid in immediately, fighting for the dominance he was so accustomed to, but Iwaizumi easily took the lead, feeling every nook in Oikawa’s mouth.

Teeth clicked teeth, lips bruised and hands running on every part of each other’s body they could get a hold of. It was messy, but Oikawa was  _ melting  _ beneath Iwaizumi. He wanted more of him. He never wanted to stop, he wanted to live in this moment for the rest of his days. Every moan Oikawa made, Iwaizumi drank it down like he needed it to live. He sucked on Oikawa’s bottom lip, moving back down and latching onto his neck, leaving his mark for everyone to see. For everyone to  _ know  _ that Oikawa belonged to  _ him _ .

Oikawa ran his hands down Iwaizumi’s front, pulling his shirt over. Iwaizumi was nicely toned, but not as much as Oikawa had imagined. He was lean, but his abs weren’t defined. Nonetheless, they felt wonderful underneath Oikawa’s hands.

He wanted _ more. _ His hands slid down, working on Iwaizumi’s jeans. Oikawa could  _ feel  _ how hard he was against him, his jeans not leaving anything to the imagination. His excitement showed in how fast his hands tried to work on unbuttoning his pants, but before he got a real chance to try, Iwaizumi pulled away, both of them a panting mess. 

Iwaizumi’s eyes were dark, staring into Oikawa’s as he tried to catch his breath. “We-we should slow down.”

Oikawa couldn’t help but whine. He knew Iwaizumi was right. He knew that he didn’t want this to be a one time thing and they should slow down. He knew all that, but his body was getting colder and his lips missed Iwaizumi’s.

He knew all this but that didn’t mean he  _ liked  _ it. 

“Don’t think I don’t want to.” Iwaizumi reached down and grabbed his shirt, throwing it back on, sitting next to Oikawa. “Because I do. I just, don’t wanna rush.”

Oikawa sat himself up on the couch, a pout growing on his face. He wanted to? He could’ve fucking fooled Oikawa, because if he hadn’t shoved himself in, none of this would’ve happened. “You have a funny way of showing it.”

“What do you mean?”

Oikawa realized that Iwaizumi was officially the densest person on planet Earth, and probably the Milky Way galaxy. “What do  _ you  _ mean? You were about to shut the door in my face! You also didn’t text me back  _ or _ try to talk to me since Sunday!” 

“Uh, well, yeah.” Iwaizumi ran his hands through his hair, avoiding Oikawa’s eye contact as best he could. “I just, I’m not good with relationship things.”

Oikawa scoffed. “Neither am I! But I’m trying to try! Because I  _ like  _ you. Like a lot.”

“I, I like you too.”

“Great! Now that that’s out of the way, we can actually get somewhere.” Oikawa leaned into Iwaizumi, resting his head on his shoulder much like their first night together. 

Oikawa wasn’t lying when he said he had no idea what he was doing. He hadn’t been in a serious relationship,  _ ever _ . He knows what people do in movies, but this wasn’t a movie. Iwaizumi was real, he was breathing right next to Oikawa. The only thing he knew how to do was ‘fuck em and dump em’, so this was uncharted territory for him. When are they supposed to hold hands? How much space do you give them? When do you introduce them to your parents? When can you start going on double dates? 

He had no idea, no answers to any of these questions, and he only knew one thing. He did  _ not  _ want to fuck this up. No, he  _ would not  _ fuck this up. He refused to. 

Oikawa is generally a standoffish type of guy, possibly even shy. He never attempted conversation where it wasn’t needed, never went out of his way for others except for a select few. Yet, he could see himself doing almost anything for this man, whether he was asked to or not. 

They’d both been afraid of the same thing, nervous about messing everything up. Oikawa was waiting for Iwaizumi to make his move, growing impatient and making his first. Iwaizumi on the other hand, had been internalizing everything, too worried about fucking it up that he refused to try at all. That’s where the two differed, and in the weirdest way possible. 

This entire relationship had been ruled by Iwaizumi. It was taken at his pace, his rules, whether he knew it or not. The relationship wouldn’t be anything without Oikawa’s unwavering attempts towards the difficult man. He was being dragged along with Iwaizumi, surprisingly happy to do so.

Yet, Iwaizumi was so afraid of commitment that he didn’t make any attempts to try at all, shutting out all of Oikawa’s attempts. He couldn’t grasp why.

Oikawa had shut himself off because he was tired of trying to feel something that had never been there in the first place. He’d been jealous of his friends and their love for each other, and when he kept getting disappointment after disappointment, he decided to stop trying. Childish maybe, but it had worked for him, and it was what made him comfortable.

Had Iwaizumi been hurt by someone before? Or did he have the same train of thought that Oikawa had? “Hey Iwaizumi?”

Iwaizumi hummed a response, leaning his head against Oikawa’s. Oikawa loved how they fit like two puzzle pieces. 

“Did someone hurt you before?”

Iwaizumi didn’t move, but he seemed to hold his breath for longer than needed. Oikawa was afraid he might’ve over stepped his boundary, but before he could apologize, Iwaizumi answered. “Yeah, you could say that.”

Oikawa moved his hand down, intertwining his fingers with Iwaizumi’s. He wanted to know everything about this man. What made him tick, who hurt him, what he enjoyed doing on a warm summer night. He hardly knew anything at all, but when he was with him, his body acted as if they’d known each other for multiple life times. 

His eyes fell to their hands, Iwaizumi running his finger along Oikawa’s hand. The gesture was small, but it made Oikawa’s heartbeat a little faster, his face growing a small smile. He could’ve stayed in that position forever, had his eyes not spotted the square figure under the TV. “Oh my god, is that a GameCube?”

Iwaizumi followed his gaze, smiling at the sight. “Yeah. When you were talking about old video games, I went and dug it out. Wanna play?”

“Duh! What games do you have?” Oikawa shot up and over to the console before waiting for an answer. “Yes! Yes! We’re playing this!” He turned towards Iwaizumi with the biggest smile. 

“Mario Party? You sure? I never lose.”

“Hah! You’re talking to the master here! I’ve never lost.” Oikawa wiggled his eyebrows, turning around and popping the game in. 

Iwaizumi grabbed the controllers, unwrapping them and plugging them in. “Oh yeah? Wanna bet?”

“I’m always up for a challenge. Give me your worst.”

Iwaizumi hummed, taking a minute to think. “Okay, if I win, you have to wear makeup to class.”

“Deal! And if I win, I get to give you a nickname.”

“You could’ve just done that without betting on it.”

This was true, but Oikawa always made sure that he had a reason to nickname someone, and not just because they were growing closer. With Kuroo, he’d beat him in who could walk the farthest and the best in high heels. Oikawa had a good amount of practice from being forced to play dress up with his sister when they were younger. Kuroo didn’t have an excuse to be good at it though. Somehow, he walked really well, but he wasn’t a pro like Oikawa, and ended up falling on his face.

With Tsukishima, it had been a bit harder. He’d lost twice to him. Once on who could get a better grade on a certain test (he beat Oikawa by four points) and the second time on who could remain straight faced longest around Kuroo. Oikawa hated that he lost that one. The third time however, Oikawa bet that he could walk on his hands longer than Tsukishima. Tsukishima accepted, and once they were both upside down, Tsukishima’s glasses fell off his face, and he fell from losing them. He demanded a rematch because it wasn’t fair, but Oikawa insisted it wasn’t his fault that his friend was blind. 

“Are you gonna complain about my wager or are you gonna get ready to lose?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having so much fun with this! Thank you for all your kind words and love! 
> 
> Comments are always appreciated because I love hearing what you guys think!


	6. Chapter 6

_ Haji-chan? No. _

_ Iwa-sama? No. _

_ Haji-kun? No. _

“Oikawa?” Oikawa darted his eyes up to Tendou, who was giving him a concerned look. “You okay? You keep grunting.”

The man in question looked at the table, papers scattered everywhere. They were in the library again, working together on yet another project. This one wasn’t as fun as building a Rube Goldberg machine had been. Rather, they had to perform experiments outside of class, and write a minimum of twelve pages to describe how each experiment turned out and why it turned out.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Well you could’ve fooled me. Do you need a minute or...?”

“No, no I’m fine, I swear. Just had something on my mind.”

Tendou hummed at that, returning his gaze to the papers before them. “Okay, then do you want to divide this up between the two of us, each taking a part or just work on it collectively when were together?”

“If we do it together, do you think it’d take longer or not?”

“Are you trying to say you like spending time with me?” Tendou raised a brow, a smug smile decorating his features. Oikawa had grown to like Tendou, instead of just tolerating him. They were similar, good at pushing each other’s buttons and being the exact same instigators. This was the fourth project they’d worked on together, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

“No, I’m trying to get as far away from your bright hair as soon as possible.”

“Now you and I both know that’s a lie.” He picked up the papers, skimming over how much they had and how much  _ more _ they needed. “Well, if we keep this pace up, I think us working together instead of separate would be better, if-” Tendou put the papers down, winking at Oikawa, “-we don’t get distracted.”

Oikawa wasn’t sure before, but he’s pretty positive now that he was being flirted with. “I’m flattered, but I already have a man.”

“Oh? I don’t see a ring though.”

Oikawa laughed. “Chill out man. Not trying to do the whole married with kids thing anytime soon.”

“So, it can’t be that serious if there’s no ring, right?” Tendou leaned forward on his arms.

Even though he’d seen himself walking down an aisle to Iwaizumi more than once (in his vivid imagination), they weren’t serious like that, yet.  _ Jesus we just started dating two weeks ago. Well, I think we’re dating. _

It was fair to think so, after their night of playing Mario Party that is. 

Oikawa had pathetically lost to Iwaizumi. He beat him by a landslide, taking four out of his five stars, gaining all the available stars from Bowser, and never gave any stars back or to Oikawa. He didn’t like to think of himself as a sore loser, but he  _ never  _ lost a game of Mario Party in his twenty-two years of existence. ‘Salty’ was the word Iwaizumi had used to describe him.

It made him think of Tsukishima, and how he chided him with that insult. The blonde was good at video games, better than Kuroo, but Oikawa had always been untouchable. Iwaizumi really was rivalling him at every corner. 

It drove Oikawa crazy in a good and bad way.

He challenged Iwaizumi to three rematches, all ending in his defeat. Oikawa was beside himself, unsure if he should be happy that he finally had a rival and competition, or  _ salty  _ that he kept losing.

Since that night, Oikawa and Iwaizumi had begun regularly hanging out. Oikawa would still visit him at the flower shop, buying different colored flowers every day, knowing that they were going back to the pianist’s home. In turn, Iwaizumi would visit him at the bar, staying around until close, walking him back to his place. They’d hold hands on the way there, kiss goodbye, kiss hello. Oikawa was full of nothing but happiness, and it was all because of Iwaizumi.

When Oikawa would visit his ‘boyfriend’, it’d be right before his shift ended. This way, he could buy the flowers, walk home with Iwaizumi, decorate his home with the flowers and, best of all, listen to the pianist play. 

In such a short time, it had become his favorite thing, Iwaizumi becoming one of his favorite people. It scared Oikawa when he thought about it too much. Were they moving too fast? Was he not being cautious enough around him? How had he let Iwaizumi weasel his way into his heart so fast? 

Oikawa was supposed to be level-headed, always on his toes. He trusted others as far as he could throw them and kept his distance from everyone and anyone. 

Yet,  _ he  _ went after Iwaizumi, not the other way around.  _ He  _ kept trying to persuade the dark-haired man into going out with him.  _ He  _ had made all the moves, all the advances, did all the pining. 

It frightened him, but it also excited him. He really liked Iwaizumi. Liked spending time with him, listening to him play, listen to his random facts about nature, playing video games with him. He liked everything that dealt with Iwaizumi and it scared the  _ fuck _ out of him, which only made him like him more.

They went on a second date, and third, fourth and fifth. They weren’t anything extravagant, but they were fun, and with every date, they got to know each other more. 

The second date had been to an arcade. Oikawa didn’t know it existed, Iwaizumi telling him how he stumbled upon it last month. They played a couple racing games, Oikawa  _ finally  _ beating Iwaizumi at something. He bragged in the shorter man’s face, dancing around until he lost at the Dance Dance Revolution machine. The brunette knew he wasn’t an amazing dancer, but Iwaizumi had ‘the moves’, blowing him out of the water.

Their third date was an  _ actual  _ race. Oikawa suggested it, taking him to a go-kart track. Oikawa suggested a bet again, wagering the same as before. Iwaizumi bet a simple five dollars. After the race, Iwaizumi was five dollars richer.

The fourth date was a nice movie and dinner one. They went to see a horror movie, Oikawa losing at rock-paper-scissors. They held hands during the entirety of the film, sharing popcorn. Dinner was a spur of the moment decision, their choice being a food truck that smelled delicious. 

Half-naked bodies, bruised lips and lewd noises was how their fifth date had ended. It was a nice day, as they walked through a park, admiring the flowers and warmer weather. They went back to Iwaizumi’s, ordered pizza and had the apartment filled with the soft melodies of his piano. After the pizza, Iwaizumi wasn’t able to keep his hands off the brunette, never returning to the keys. 

Despite losing all their bets, Oikawa was still thinking of a suiting nickname. Nothing was fitting the way he wanted it. Whether he won or not,  _ yet,  _ he still needed a good one. 

“Just because there’s no ring doesn’t mean it’s not serious. I’m very happy with my mans.”

“Your mans?” Tendou laughed.

“Yes, now do you want to finish this or keep flirting?”

The red-head shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m kinda having fun, aren’t you?”

If Oikawa hadn’t met Iwaizumi when he did, this might have been a lot more ‘fun’ than it already was. Tendou was beautiful. Tall like Oikawa, his crazy hair color matching his eyes, and had a smile that lit his face up like a christmas tree. He was fun to hang out with, even though it was to do projects, and they always had things in common to talk about. 

But he had already met Iwaizumi.

“I am, but I have fun with you regardless.” 

Tendou seemed to give up, leaning back in his chair. “Fine, fine. So, together or separate?”

Oikawa hummed. “I think we’ll get it done faster and easier together.”

“Sounds good to me.” He checked his phone and shot up. “But I gotta go! I’m late.” He scrambled his things together, shoving them in his bag, earning a nasty look from the librarian.

“Gotta date?”

Tendou shot him a sly grin. “Maybe, since  _ someone _ isn’t interested in these good looks.”

“It’s that guy from our stats class isn’t it? What’s his name? Ushijima?”

“Maybe, maybe not. A gentleman never fucks and tells!” With a final wave, he disappeared out of the library like a tornado.

Oikawa checked the time himself, grinning when he saw it was half past six. Iwaizumi said he’d pick him up from the library today and they could get food. Of course, Oikawa said yes.

After he packed up his bag and was walked out, his phone started ringing. The caller display read ‘Tetsu-kun.’

He answered, lifting the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

_ “I’M BEING CHEATED ON AND I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!” _

Oikawa blinked. “Wait, what the fuck? What do you mean?”

The man on the other line took a deep breath.  _ “I  _ mean  _ I’m being cheated on and I can’t fucking deal with it anymore!” _

“Tetsu-kun, you literally just said that.” 

_ “Fine, fine,” _ Kuroo huffed.  _ “You’ve hardly been spending time with me and Tsukki, which means you’re cheating on us and I hate it.” _

Oikawa stopped walking. “Wait. You mean I’m cheating on you? That’s what you meant?”

_ “Well yeah, who else?” _

“I don’t know, maybe your boyfriend? Usually that’s the person cheating occurs from.”

Kuroo laughed.  _ “Don’t be dumb! Tsukki would never cheat on me!” _ There was rustling on the other end.  _ “Right, Tsukki?” _

Tsukishima didn’t make any sounds, making Kuroo wail a second later.  _ “Tsukki! Would you cheat on me?! Is there someone else!?” _

Oikawa started walking again, seeing Iwaizumi at the end of campus. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, but just seeing him took all the oxygen out of his lungs. The sun illuminated his features, making his almost black hair look chestnut and his skin glow. Oikawa’s smile was already simmering on his lips. 

Tsukishima finally answered Kuroo so he’d stop blowing the brunette’s eardrum out.  _ “Sorry, but I fucked the pizza-guy for free food.” _

_ “Tsukki! How could you!” _

_ “A man’s gotta eat.” _

These two really made Oikawa’s life worth living. There wasn’t ever a dull moment with them, whether they were around or not. Kuroo and Oikawa were the ones who usually started their little antics, but Tsukishima liked playing along as much as the other two, whether he admitted it or not.

Oikawa finally reached Iwaizumi. The latter turned, a beautiful smile on his face. “Hey. Oh, uh my bad.”

“It’s fine, it’s just Tsukki-kun and Tetsu-kun.”

_ “Just us huh?”  _ They squeaked in unison.

“Yes,  _ just _ . You called me just to accuse me of cheating on you.”

Iwaizumi laughed as they fell into step. “Wait, are you cheating on me?”

Well Oikawa couldn’t cheat on him if they weren’t dating right? So they were? The thought made his heart skip a beat.

_ “Oikawa! Who’s this mystery man and when are you gonna choose who to not cheat on?” _

“Tetsu-kun, we’re not dating,” Oikawa retorted dryly. 

_ “Are we still together?” _

“Of course Tsukki-kun. You know I love you.”

Iwaizumi gasped. “So you’re cheating on me!”

Oikawa smirked, knitting his brows together. “Don’t join the dark side.”

“I think you’re on the dark side if you’re the one cheating on me. I’m wounded.”

_ “Tooru! When do we get to meet the guy you masturbate to at night?” _

“I don’t masturbate to him!” Oikawa squeaked.

Iwaizumi was crying at this point, clutching his sides and making weird dolphin noises from laughing too hard. His smile was one of the biggest Oikawa had ever seen, and it made his heart skip a couple beats. These past couple weeks, Iwaizumi had slowly opened up to him, showing him that this meant something to him. 

Oikawa was opening up too, unconsciously so. He just blabbed out any and everything that came to mind, whether it was his past, what he wanted to eat or what he was thinking. Everything was so easy with Iwaizumi, and he loved it.

_ “We want to meet him. Bring him over for dinner tonight!”  _ Tsukishima stole the phone back.  _ “If you love me you will.” _

They were getting a good amount of weird glares in their direction, probably because Oikawa yelled about masturbating. Either way, he wanted to stop being the center of attention. He slid his hand into Iwaizumi’s, earning a content look. “Would you wanna meet Tetsu-kun and Tsukki-kun tonight? They’ve been dying to meet you.”

Iwaizumi hummed, running his thumb along Oikawa’s hand. “Yeah, they seem cool. I’d love to.”

_ “Was that a yes? Okay, great! Come over right now! Love you, bye!”  _

Without any room to argue, Oikawa pocketed his phone. “Well, guess we’re going.”

The pianist winked, bumping their shoulders together. “Lead the way, cheater.”

 

* * *

 

“So, these two are a handful.”

“Okay.”

“And they’re protective.”

“Oikawa, I get it.”

“And they think they’re funny but they’re not. And they’ll try to make you feel uncomfortable, but they mean well and-”

“Oikawa.” Iwaizumi stopped, pulling the brunette’s hand to stop with him. “I get it, okay? They sound like really good friends and I wouldn’t expect anything less. Okay?”

To say that Oikawa was freaking out would be an understatement. The duo’s apartment was an easy fifteen-minute walk from campus. After he’d been hung up on, he slowly went from excited to anxious as fuck. Oikawa had never brought anyone home before, let alone date someone like this since high school. Even those were short flings if anything.

The realization that he was taking Iwaizumi to meet the two most important people to him was nerve wracking. What if Iwaizumi got jealous of their relationship like all the previous guys he’d attempted with? What if they didn’t get along? What if they scared Iwaizumi off? 

_ Oh my god. What if they tell embarrassing ass stories of me from high school? _

“Oikawa?” Iwaizumi stepped towards him, lined his cheek with his free hand, pulled him closer and kissed him. “Get that look off your face. Do you not want me to meet them?”

“Wha-no! Of course I do. I’m just… nervous. You guys mean a lot to me.” 

Iwaizumi wasn’t big on PDA, other than holding hands and the occasional shoulder bump. Oikawa must look terrible for him to have kissed him. It wasn’t anything extravagant, just an ‘I’m here’ type of kiss. It calmed Oikawa, easing his nerves back to mild instead of extreme. 

“If we can tolerate you, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”

Oikawa pouted, but tugged Iwaizumi in the apartment building and headed up towards their place. If Iwaizumi didn’t like them, Oikawa probably wouldn’t be able to see him the way he used to. Obviously his feelings won’t disappear overnight, but these two were his family, and family comes first. 

With that final thought in his mind, he took a deep breath and opened the door. “We’re here.”

The apartment was clean, cleaner than normal that is. Tsukishima was huddled up to the side, paint decorating his arms and some pieces of his face. Kuroo wasn’t posing for him, so he was probably painting whatever he dreamt about, or creating something new altogether. When he heard Oikawa, gold eyes met brownie ones. His smile was relaxed, happy to see Oikawa. “Kuroo’s changing. He said he had to ‘dress to impress’”.

“Of course he did.” Oikawa shut the door behind Iwaizumi and him. “What’re you painting?” 

“For class, I have to paint something worth a thousand words.”

“That really doesn’t explain anything.” Oikawa kicked his shoes off, showing Iwaizumi to put his next to his own. “Oh, but uh, so this is Iwaizumi.”

Tsukishima got up, discarding his tools before walking over. “Nice to meet you. I’m Tsukishima Kei.” He stuck his hand out for a handshake.”

“Iwaizumi Hajime.” He returned the handshake. “You’re, uh, really-”

“Tall, yeah I know. I’ve heard all the jokes before Mr. Original.”

“Oh no, I was gonna say beautiful. But you are tall.”

Tsukishima’s eyes widened slightly. That wasn’t something he’d heard from someone other than Kuroo and Oikawa. Everyone else just commented on his height or resting bitch face. His face melted into a smile. “Thank you.”

Before anyone else could get a word out, Kuroo emerged from the hallway, jeans and a nice t-shirt lining his body. His hair was as unruly as ever, but his feet were bare. It was a nice sight to drink down. He really was trying to dress to impress.

Kuroo’s eyes locked on Iwaizumi’s hand in his boyfriends. “Well well well. Is this Mr. Mystery Man?”

Tsukishima turned, dropping the other’s hand. “Yeah, and he’s trying to hit on your boyfriend.”

“Is he?” Kuroo’s eyes met Iwaizumi’s as he trotted over, snaking his arm around his lovers’ waist. “I see he has good taste. But-” His eyes ran up and down the pianist. “-he’s mine.” 

Oikawa wasn’t sure what it was with the ‘dominant’ males in the relationship always needing to strut their stuff, and he never will. Kuroo always liked to show how he was in charge and had that ‘don’t fuck with me’ aura surrounding him when he saw fit, which was apparently right now. 

Iwaizumi seemed to like it though, as he intertwined his fingers back into Oikawa’s, sticking his dominant hand out towards Kuroo as he just did with Tsukishima. “By all means. I already have my eyes on a bigger prize.” He turned to wink at Oikawa before challenging Kuroo’s gaze again. “Iwaizumi Hajime. Nice to meet you.”

Oikawa was starting to get nervous. He loved his friends and will forever appreciate how protective they were of him, but he was starting to think this was a mistake. He didn’t expect Iwaizumi to compliment Tsukishima flat out like that, instead of indirectly flirting with him like everyone else usually did. His bluntness was what Oikawa liked about him, but right now it was setting his nerves on  _ fire _ .

Tsukishima looked bored with the whole encounter. He wasn’t a fan of watching guys stick their chests out either, and thought he could have some fun if he antagonized Kuroo with his sly remark, but it appeared to have the opposite effect. 

Kuroo and Iwaizumi seemed to be gauging each other’s strength between their handshakes for what seemed like forever before Kuroo busted out laughing.

“Ah man! I like you! That’s a nice grip you got on you too! Kuroo Tetsurou. Nice to meet’cha!”

Oikawa’s body felt a million times lighter. A heavy breath escaped him that he didn’t realize he was holding, his nerves evaporating with it. 

Tsukishima shrugged out of Kuroo’s grip, gravitating back to his painting, Oikawa following as the other two got lost in conversation about who knows what.

“Beautiful huh?”

“I told you he was blunt.”

“Mm.” The blonde sat down. “He seems nice. I see why you like him.”

“Well it’s not the only reason but, I’m just glad you guys seem to like him.”

“I never said I liked him. A couple nice compliments can only get you so far.”

“Tsukki-kun. Don’t be so hard on him. He means well. And he calls them like he sees em!”

Kuroo and Iwaizumi kept laughing, Kuroo’s arm around the shorter man’s shoulders, their eyes looking over towards Oikawa and Tsukishima every now and then before they fell into another pit of laughter.

“I thought Tetsu-kun was supposed to be giving the ‘dad talk’?

“Did you actually want that?” Tsukishima looked disgusted.

Oikawa laughed. “No, of course not. I’m just surprised they’re getting along so well is all.” He looked back at Tsukishima. “Anyways, what’re you painting?”

“Well, it’s not supposed to be easily defined by like, one word? I don’t know, my professor was weirdly indirect about it. Just said,  _ Make people think not once, but four times about your piece. _ ”

“Can I be the judge?” He asked as he watched Tsukishima put his brushes down. 

The blonde gestured, “By all means.”

Oikawa didn’t know what to expect, but this wasn’t it. The painting was black and white, the only color in the eyes that were half lidded, almost closed. It was of a girl, her hair flowing above her, with her hands wrapped around her neck. Her mouth was open, bubbles falling out as she screamed, raking for oxygen; but her eyes were peaceful, a bright glow of purple filling them. It looked like she was happy, or maybe relieved with how she ended up.

“Oh, uh, holy shit. Wow.”

Tsukishima smiled. “What do you think?”

Oikawa wasn’t sure what he thought. Why did she look so relieved even though she was crying out? Her hands clawing at her throat for more air, trying to catch one last breath. 

Or.

“Oh my god.” Oikawa’s eyes widened. “She’s killing herself.” He turned to look at Tsukishima for a nod of approval, but was met with a gesture, telling him to continue.

“You think she’s drowning because of the way her hair flows and how she’s holding her throat, but that’s not it. It looks like she’s drowning  _ because  _ she’s trying to kill herself. That’s it, right? That’s why her eyes are the only thing that’s not black and white. It was the last piece of her that was alive.”

“Mm.” The blonde turned back to his canvas. “When I was younger, one of our neighbors died from drowning in a pool. Everyone said how terrible the accident was, but a part of me never thought it was an accident.” He shrugged his shoulders. “This was what I thought of when he said ‘make people think more than one,’ because I did. The only person who ever knows, is you. Ya know?”

“Sometimes I think you should’ve been a therapist.”

“Too many people. Too many problems.” 

They laughed, agreeing that he wasn’t much of a people person. Even Oikawa was better at dealing with others than Tsukishima was. 

“Hey! So we’ve been talking, and we should go to the bar. Whaddya think?”

The two in question turned towards their boyfriends, watching them saunter over. Oikawa and Tsukishima shared a look before turning back to them, shrugging their shoulders and answering ‘sure’.

“Great!” Kuroo went to grab a hoodie for the blonde and himself. “Let’s go to your bar, Oikawa.”

“I guess, but why? I don’t wanna be at work longer than I have to.”

“ _ Because _ ,” Kuroo pestered, “we always get free drinks! Now let’s go.”

They piled out of the apartment, Kuroo and Tsukishima leading the way as the darker haired one rambled on about how cool he thought Iwaizumi was.

“So, how many times did you think of me while you were masturbating?”

Oikawa choked on his spit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh really?” Iwaizumi squeezed his hand. “Cause Kuroo was telling me all kinds of crazy things. Are you telling me they're all lies?”

“Yes.”

“Mm. Okay. And here I was so flattered and all.”

Oikawa definitely did not want to call what his heart was doing ‘love’, but with the way it was beating, and the way his body was warmed at the touch by Iwaizumi’s hand, it was something on the road to it.

 

* * *

 

“Damn, you guys are trash.”

“Rematch! You just got lucky!”

“At how terrible you are?”

They were on their third game of pool, Oikawa and Tsukishima on the same team because Kuroo insisted that he needed to be on Iwaizumi’s team, and the latter seemed just as excited to be on his team. However, Oikawa and Tsukishima were kicking their asses, and the other two didn’t like being on the losing end of it. 

They’d been at the bar about two hours now, the alcohol swimming warming through their veins. The Iwaizumi that didn’t drink much wasn’t here tonight, him and Kuroo matching at three drinks and two shots for the night. 

Kuroo wasn’t lying about the free drinks either. The bartender working tonight was a good-looking dark-haired guy. He didn’t talk much, and always looked so pissed off, but when (who Oikawa assumed was the dark-haired guys boyfriend) came in with his bright hair and smile larger than life, he got an extra kick in his step. They would bicker and laugh together, their smiles never leaving their faces. No matter how much he told Oikawa that he didn’t like him, Oikawa knew he was an idiot and a bad liar. 

Oikawa liked the guy, and always knew the right ways to weasel a couple free drinks out of him. He would just flirt with his cute little friend, asking him a couple ‘get to know you’ questions, and flirt like no tomorrow. Every time, the bartender would get annoyed, and shove the free alcohol in Oikawa’s face to make him leave. 

“How about a bet?” 

Iwaizumi wagering bets now? Oikawa needed to hear this. “Okay, what’s your wager?”

He walked over, rubbing up against Oikawa as he pulled out his phone. “If I win, then I get to print this picture.” He unlocked his phone, and his background was none other than Oikawa, the day he had to wear makeup to class. His hair was the same soft curls on his head, but he had a smokey eye done, with wings so sharp they could cut someone. His lipstick was a natural color, a shade pinker than normal, and blush to match. 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, are we looking at nudes?” Kuroo and Tsukishima came over, sticking their heads around to see. After seeing how dolled up Oikawa was, they started laughing so hard that no sounds came out, falling over each other. 

“It’s not funny. I think I look pretty good.”

“Yeah-you-you,” Kuroo tried answering but couldn’t between his fits of laughter. 

“ _ Fine _ . But if I win, then I finally get to call you whatever I want.”

Iwaizumi grinned. “Deal.” He picked his glass up, about to take a drink before dropping it, glass scattering throughout the floor. 

“Shit, I’ll get a mop.” Oikawa made his way to closet and back, cleaning up the mess. Once he came back, he saw Iwaizumi glaring at his hand. “C’mon, it’s just a glass. Let’s play this game.”

He looked up at Oikawa, before putting some money on the table and sticking his pole stick back in the holder. “I can’t. I gotta go.”

“Wait, I’ll come with you.” He waved bye to Kuroo and Tsukishima, shrugging his shoulders and shooting an apologetic look their way before following Iwaizumi outside. “Iwaizumi, wait!”

“Don’t follow me.”

“Iwaizumi! Hey!” He grabbed his hand, pulling at him to stop. “Let me come with you.”

“No!” He snapped. Oikawa let go, taking a step back. Iwaizumi stared at him, a sad look on his face, but his words angry. “I-I need to practice.”

“That’s what this is about? Iwaizumi, you have plenty of time! Just come back inside.” He went to reach for his hand again, the pianist pulling his hand away.

“You don’t get it,” he whispered. “Goodbye, Oikawa.”

Oikawa thought back to the time when he watched Iwaizumi walk away from him outside of that diner after their first date. Thought about how Iwaizumi looked the same, saying his farewells the exact same way, with the exact same sad eyes, before turning and leaving Oikawa. He thought about how he didn’t chase after him when he should have, and how his legs weren’t moving forward, letting him chase after him this time. 

Oikawa couldn’t move, as he watched Iwaizumi turn the corner and disappear from view. Whether it be the alcohol or the twisting pain in his chest, his eyes began to water as his feet cemented to where he stood.

This had been one of the happiest days of Oikawa’s life, from the minute he woke up, to the dark hours of the night. 

Somehow it ended the complete opposite way. 

Every time something happened, Oikawa was painfully reminded how little he knew about the man. He knew of his one and only friend Suga. He couldn’t wrap his head around why, because Iwaizumi was a fun guy, and kind, and good with others. He knew his love of the piano, where he lived, what movies he liked to watch, the music he enjoyed, his role model. 

Those were all superficial things though. Face value. Things that anyone could know just by spending some time with him. That didn’t make Oikawa special, didn’t make him the guy who only saw Iwaizumi behind closed doors.

“Tooru?”

He turned to see Kuroo and Tsukishima, the door closing behind them, their faces full of concern. Those looks were what broke Oikawa, his tears overflowing and falling down his face in silence. 

“C’mon, let’s get you home.” Tsukishima grabbed his hand while Kuroo wrapped his arm around his shoulders. 

Oikawa cried and cried. He tried to wipe them away with his free hand, but they were replaced with new ones falling down his face. Oikawa knew this was the reason he didn’t grow close to others. All other people are good for is hurting you. He knew that, and yet he couldn’t help but think about Iwaizumi more and more.

Even now, with the moonlight filling his mind with memories of Iwaizumi playing for him, tears wetting his face; he couldn’t help but think that somehow, in some way, this was his fault. 

Iwaizumi did everything right. Graciously, kindly, thoughtfully. He was amazing, his only fault lying in the insecurities that he and Oikawa shared. Even that was justified, Oikawa knowing the feeling all too well to not understand why he did what he did.

Oikawa has a key to the duo’s apartment, and they have one for his. So, when he looked up and didn’t see his familiar, dark apartment, he looked between the two. “What’re you guys doing?” He was more surprised that he didn’t realize where they were going, only noticing after they were already there.

“I told you let’s go home. So here we are,” Tsukishima states.

“Guys, I’m alright.” Oikawa turned to leave, Kuroo pulling him back into the apartment.

“Nu uh. C’mon.”

Oikawa knew better than to try and fight them once they made up their minds. With a glare, he grabbed the blanket from the top of the couch and started making his makeshift bed. 

Tsukishima disappeared into their room with Kuroo. After a second, Kuroo came back out with a change of clothes. “Here.” He tossed them into Oikawa’s hands before walking off to the kitchen. 

He muttered a ‘thanks’ and threw on the clothes as Kuroo came back and re-folded the blanket. 

“Why?”

Kuroo answered him by grabbing his hand and pulling him into their room where Tsukishima was huddled up to the one side, glaring at Oikawa.

“What?”

“Do you think we bought this California King just because Tetsu’s a blanket hog?”

“I am not a blanket hog!” 

Before Oikawa could ask another one worded question, Tsukishima climbed over the rest of the bed, pulling Oikawa in behind him and cuddling up, and throwing an arm across Oikawa, snaking their fingers together. Kuroo followed after turning the lights out, snuggling his arm under Oikawa’s head. 

If someone would’ve told Oikawa in middle school, that he’d find two amazing people who he would treasure more than life itself, he would’ve laughed at you and called you crazy.

In this moment, his body was pulling between smiling and crying harder than he had been when they were walking home. The warmth from the two bodies on either side of him slowed his heart, as everything else in the world fell away. Words could never express the feelings that Oikawa was feeling, and he didn’t have a vast enough vocabulary to try. 

Regardless, Oikawa tried anyways. “Don’t mess up my hair.”

“It’s already ugly,” Tsukishima murmured. 

Kuroo laughed. “We love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Half way there! I lowkey ship OiTen, but not more than IwaOi! Anywho, this chapter ended up being a nice amount longer than the other ones. IwaOi loves to rip my heart out all the time. Hope you're all enjoying! 
> 
> Comments are always appreciated because I love hearing what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up a lot longer than I expected and I regret nothing.  
> I updated the tags too

_“The number you have reached is currently unavailable-”_

Oikawa hung up the phone, a defeated sigh leaving his lungs.

“Still radio silence?”

“Yeah. This fucking blows.” Oikawa thanked Tsukishima for the cup of tea before he sat down next to him.

It’d been three days since their night out at the bar. Oikawa had desperately been trying to get a hold of Iwaizumi, but to no avail. He’d call and call and leave voicemails every couple times. He only knew he was still alive because Iwaizumi would text back once a day. The text literally reading ‘Sorry, I’m alive.’

It made Oikawa restless. Why wouldn’t Iwaizumi at least try to talk to him? He knew he wasn’t good with relationships and such, but he took this to a whole nother level.

The look on his face after he’d dropped that glass was fear. Was he afraid that Oikawa would hurt him? He never did get specifics from Iwaizumi about that, about who or how he was hurt. Maybe something he did struck a nerve with the pianist, making him realize that this was all a huge mistake.

Since that night, Kuroo and Tsukishima refused to leave him alone. They didn’t push or fish for any answers that Oikawa wasn’t willingly giving out. Instead they talked like everything was normal, comforting the brunette when he’d hit a low.

Kuroo did overstep the line the second day though, telling Oikawa that he gave the ‘dad speech’ and did like Iwaizumi. Tsukishima agreed that he seemed cool, and perhaps needed time to process everything. It was the first time for him to meet Oikawa’s friends, and he looked like he wanted to make a good first impression. They both assured him that he might just need time to process the whole dating thing.

Even though Kuroo said he liked him, he also threatened a broken nose to Iwaizumi’s face if he kept this shit up for too long. Tsukishima nodded in agreement.

“Did you finish that project for physics yet?” the blonde asked, trying to change the subject.

Oikawa shook his head. “No, I haven’t met back up with Tendou yet, and the project is fucking massive. We have to do all these extra little experiments and then write a billion pages on it.”

“I highly doubt it’s that many.”

“You’re right. Only a million and two.” He laughed, placing his cup down.

It was just the two of them today, Kuroo busy with work for that damn boss that neither Tsukishima nor Oikawa liked. Whenever they’d voice their opinions, Kuroo would only shrug it off, asking how they’d pay the bills otherwise.

They thought about going out and doing something, but without Kuroo to try and push them out of their comfort zones, they couldn’t find the energy to interact with others if they didn’t have to. Instead, they opted to watch reruns of whatever was on TV, cuddled up in the living room. The windows were cracked, the sunlight pouring in with the warm air that was too cool for summer but too hot for spring.

“You think it’d be weird if I just like, showed up?”

Tsukishima turned to him. “Showed up where?”

“His apartment. I mean, I did before.”

“Mm,” the blonde hummed. “You’re right. I would say give him space, but you’ve been doing that.”

Oikawa nodded. “I know. I just don’t know what to do. He means a lot to me and I just keep messing it up.”

“Stop that. You blame yourself for _literally_ everything. You’re trying your damnedest. Even I can see it.”

“But?” Oikawa asked.

Tsukishima furrowed his brow. “But what?”

“I feel like there’s more to what you were gonna say.”

“I don’t like seeing you like this. Maybe Iwaizumi doesn’t deserve you. Deserve you trying so hard and putting yourself through all this shit for him to just leave you high and dry like this.”

Oikawa met Tsukishima’s concerned scowl with an appreciative one. Tsukishima might be rooting for him and Iwaizumi, but that was mainly because he saw how happy Oikawa was when he talked about him. Even when he saw them together for the first time the other night. He saw the way the two looked at each other, saw the fondness and emotion in their touches and conversation.

Tsukishima was always the one to watch from the sidelines, trying to really figure out what’s going on. He didn’t trust people, even more than Oikawa. He didn’t like other people. They were too loud, too annoying, too emotional. Where Oikawa seemed shy because he didn’t like growing close to others, Tsukishima was a flat out asshole because he genuinely didn’t like others. He had no urge to make new friends, only tolerating who he had to for school and work.

Oikawa always knew that they were both supportive, but if he wanted tough love, he knew Tsukishima was the one to ask. Kuroo was always too afraid of hurting his feelings by saying something the wrong way, eventually beating around to how he was truly feeling.

“And don’t take that the wrong way. He seems like a good guy, and I liked what I saw up until this silent treatment bullshit. But I care about _you._ You’re the one that matters to me.”

“I know, I know,” Oikawa answered, smiling softly.

“It was good to see you actually open up to someone, I guess. At least try something. It made you happy. Like he was filling this hole that we couldn’t.”

Tsukishima wasn’t wrong, but Oikawa didn’t know what words to use to tell him that. How could he tell him that he felt out of place with the two of them sometimes? That wasn’t exactly it either though. He yearned for what the two of them shared, and knew he couldn’t share that next level connection with them, but he knew they didn’t do it on purpose.

Iwaizumi was that last piece of the missing puzzle. They worked well together, a perfect balance. Iwaizumi put him in his place, didn’t let Oikawa walk all over him. Instead he equaled him. Challenged him with new knowledge and experiences that he was unfamiliar with before. Gave him a run for his money.

They had that nice balance of easy conversation and comfortable silence. Oikawa knew he was out of his element, but stumbling along the way with Iwaizumi was fun, enjoyable.

Simply put, Iwaizumi was making Oikawa happy. So happy that his mind drifted to the thoughts of ‘what ifs’ and the ‘L-word’ for the first time in his entire life. It was alarming, frightening, thrilling and wonderful.

“It’s not that. It’s just, well you and Tetsu-kun have each other, ya know?”

“We also have you,” Tsukishima remarked.

“Of course, and I know that. I just... I’ve always envied what you two have, and I love you both and I’m always happy for you guys. I don’t know-” Oikawa broke off, an awkward laugh replacing what his words couldn’t finish.

“And Iwaizumi is it, huh? That final puzzle piece of yours.”

Leave it to Tsukishima and his four-eyed self to always know exactly what Oikawa was thinking. Tsukishima always knew how to read him like a book. Knowing his gestures and saying things that Oikawa couldn’t admit to himself.

Oikawa stretched, getting up and taking his now empty cup of tea to the kitchen. “Well, I gotta go get ready for work.” He walked towards the door and shrugged his shoes on.

“Mm. I’ll visit you later.” Tsukishima waved at him from the couch.

“No worries. See ya, Tsukki-kun!” Oikawa called over as he shut the door behind him.

 

* * *

 

“So, do you come here often?”

Oikawa was about two hours into his shift, when he was officially over this bullshit. The third guy of the night stumbled into his bar, already half drunk and started hitting on him with the worst pick up lines possible.

“What can I get you?” Oikawa tried to sound pleasant through gritted teeth.

“How about a tall glass of you?” The man sat down hard on the barstool diagonal to where Oikawa was standing, trying his hardest not to slur his words. Regardless, he was working Oikawa’s last nerve.

“What. Can. I. Get. You?” Oikawa was tired of trying to be nice, long forgetting flirting, and enunciated each word, this time with a frown on his face.

“You’re not gonna get no tip like this. C’mon, gimme a nice smile.” The drunk man leaned over the bar, his eyelids drooped and body language lazy.

A year ago, Oikawa would be eating this up; leaning against the counter, running a hand through his hair, flirting back like his life depended on it. He’d sell his soul to the devil for a couple extra bucks in tips, not caring much for anything other than a nice tip and quick fuck.

Today however, he couldn’t be more disgusted with the thought of how he used to be or this idiot laying on the bar in front of him. The guy wasn’t even bad looking, but his attitude screamed ‘asshole’ and it made Oikawa’s mood even more sour than it had been before.

“Order a drink or fuck off.” The bartender grabbed two empty glasses to refill for other customers, swiping up their money for the next round after he placed them back on the counter.

“Hey!” He hiccupped as he stumbled out of his stool. “I’m a pay-paying customer!”

“You haven’t bought anything.”

The drunkard mumbled a ‘you’ll regret that’, cursing and calling Oikawa a few choice words before stomping out the door.

Once he was gone, Oikawa continued refilling drinks and wiping down the bar. Tsukishima hadn’t stopped by, and hopefully he wouldn’t. Oikawa told him not to, but that never stopped the blonde before. Usually he didn’t mind, but he knew that Tsukishima wanted to stop by to make sure he was alright instead of just to grab a drink and hang out.

Oikawa wouldn’t say he was depressed, but he needed a nice synonym that described this feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach the past couple days. He couldn’t shake it no matter how much ice cream or movie marathoning he did with his two friends.

He felt guilty. Guilty that he let Iwaizumi walk away from him, two times at that. Guilty that he didn’t try to understand him more. Guilty that he didn’t try to get to know him more, learning more than just his name.

He felt angry, sad, needy, guilty and hurt. Iwaizumi made him so happy. Happier than he’d been in a long time, but when someone is able to bring happiness into your life like that, they’re able to take it away just as fast.

The past couple months of whatever the two of them were doing was pure bliss for Oikawa. Even the annoying pinning and countless rejections had led to their first date, and multiple dates after that (some slightly less clothed than others). Either way, it had Oikawa floating on cloud nine. They’d only been officially dating for two weeks now, but it felt more like a couple months instead.

He missed Iwaizumi. Missed listening to his fingers dance across keys, missed their back and forths, missed kissing him. He missed everything dealing with the dark-haired man.

Oikawa huffed, crouching down with his back turned to the bar to stock more liquor. He had even thought of the perfect nickname for Iwaizumi, and would have _finally_ been able to win their bet and call him it, had he not left him high and dry.

Iwa-chan.

It fit him perfectly! It had this sound to it when Oikawa let it roll of his tongue. It only took him a week and a half of agonizing over it to decide.

“Am I ever gonna get service in this place?”

Oikawa could feel a blood vessel pop as he heard those words. That last guy had pushed Oikawa over the extremely steep edge that he was balancing on all night, and now this customer was asking to either get punched or have a beer dumped on him.

_You need this job. Just breathe._ Oikawa thought to himself, taking the deepest breath, as if trying to suck in all the oxygen in the bar, before getting up and turning around.

All the anger that was coursing through his veins dissipated as the guy sitting in front of him smiled. “Hey there. Long time no see.”

A familiar head of gray hair, chestnut eyes, and light skin met his gaze. Oikawa closed his eyes, exhaling and let his shoulders sag. “Whaddya want?”

“Someone doesn’t look happy to see me,” he teased. “I’ll take a long island.”

Oikawa got his hands busy, filling a glass up with ice and the needed alcohol. Once he topped it with a lemon, he placed it in front of the customer, then began to busy his hands with cleaning other glasses. “You almost got beer dumped on you.”

Sugawara laughed. The sound was light, and made Oikawa feel a little less sour. “Sorry, sorry. If I would’ve known you were having a bad night, I would’ve brought Hajime with me.”

At his name, Oikawa’s gaze fell. “He wouldn’t have come anyways.”

“Trouble in paradise?” Sugawara asked as he sipped his drink.

Oikawa shrugged. “It’s far from paradise. Shouldn’t you know?”

“I haven’t talked to him in the past couple days. Can’t say this doesn’t sound like him though.”

“Well I haven’t talked to him either. In the past couple days, I mean.”

“Mm.” Sugawara began playing with his straw. “Ya know, you’re really helping him. These past couple years he’s just been surviving.” He sighed. “But with you, well _since_ you, a fire’s been lit in him again. Instead of just surviving, he’s _living_! And that’s because of you. Just give him some time.”

_Because of me?_ “Then why’s he making this so goddamn difficult?”

Sugawara laughed, a real laugh. “I think that’s just his personality.” He took another sip, his face contorting. “He’s been like this since his mom passed away. She was sick, and he dropped out of college to take care of her.”

Oikawa thought back to when Iwaizumi first came into the bar. He never said why or how or what made him leave college. Only that his roommate was annoying and always drunk. Oikawa didn’t think twice about it after Iwaizumi said he couldn’t find a major that interested him enough. He’d left it at that and the brunette didn’t question it. College isn’t for everyone, and he’d figured that Iwaizumi dropped out to become a professional pianist anyways.

_“Did someone hurt you before?”_

_“Yeah, you could say that.”_

Oikawa’s hands went still around the glass in his hands, his eyes growing wide in realization. Iwaizumi wasn’t avoiding him because Oikawa had messed up. He wasn’t doing any of this because he was ‘bad at relationships’.

Iwaizumi was genuinely afraid. Terrified of the unknowns of tomorrow.

“You’re thinking about how Hajime is afraid of what he can’t control, huh?” Sugawara asked.

Oikawa didn’t answer.

Sugawara sighed. “His mother was everything to him. He learned the piano because of her. Became the man he is today because of her. Worked his ass off to try and pay for her medication and take care of her, but none of it was enough.” He paused, taking a drink. “So instead, he played the piano for her. He promised that he’d make his own piece. ‘Be as good as Mozart,’ she told him.

“After she died, he wasn’t the same. He threw himself into the piano, hardly ever coming up for air. It’d been like that for about a year. The same thing over and over, hardly ever leaving his house except to work.”

_Well that explains why we never ran into each other._

“But since he’s met you, he’s changed. He’s growing, growing into someone who wants to live each day to the fullest.”

Oikawa’s lungs weren’t working like they should, his eyes glazing over. Iwaizumi had been struggling with all of this, and Oikawa thought that it was all about him. _Idiot._

“Oikawa?” The man in question lifted his head to look at Sugawara. “Hajime will hurt you. Are you willing to endure the bad later, so you can enjoy the good now?”

As their eyes held each other's gaze, two thoughts occurred to Oikawa.

Sugawara had told Iwaizumi that he wanted more out of their relationship. Wanted to be more than just best friends since middle school. Iwaizumi shot him down, their friendship remaining just as strong, while the pianist nursed Sugawara’s heart that was now broken because of him.

Or.

Instead of Iwaizumi shooting him down, he’d accepted. Their friendship turning into a relationship. Friends turned to lovers. Except, Iwaizumi’s fear of commitment tore them apart, leaving Sugawara heartbroken yet again.

Oikawa’s heart hurt for Sugawara. It didn’t matter which situation had happened, but he couldn’t imagine being in the other man’s position. Here he was, trying to help Oikawa in his relationship with Iwaizumi, all while he’d rather be the guy on the other end, reciprocating his love.

Sugawara was to Iwaizumi what Kuroo and Tsukishima were to him.

“I’m always up for a challenge.” Oikawa answered.

“I hope so,” Sugawara murmured, drinking down the alcohol.

Oikawa wasn’t sure what to say next to Sugawara. Whether to give him words of encouragement or ask about his past with the pianist. Either way, he never got the chance to.

The front door busted open, so loud it sounded like a couple hinges broke off. Standing in the doorway, were two twenty-year-old looking guys. Behind them was the asshole from earlier, mumbling between the two of them as he looked around, before locking eyes on Oikawa. The drunkard pointed his finger in the bartender’s direction as the three of them headed over.

_Great. Just fucking wonderful._

Sugawara followed Oikawa’s gaze, landing on the three guys walking over. “Friends of yours?”

“Not exactly,” Oikawa grumbled.

Luck was _not_ on Oikawa’s side tonight. He’d worked here long enough to know his way around drunks. This, like many other nights, wasn’t looking good for the brunette. His boss wasn’t working tonight, he hadn’t gotten as many tips as he usually did, and these three guys looked like they either wanted to bash Oikawa’s face in or fuck him into next week.

Oikawa was going to guess the former.

The bastard from earlier had a smug grin plastered on his face, as he followed the two taller, beefier guys towards Oikawa. Instead of being a snarky asshole from the get-go, he’d figure he’d see if he could diffuse the situation with alcohol.

He worked on his award winning smile before he asked, “What can I get you guys?”

Neither one of the new guys answered, as they silently looked Oikawa up and down. The guy from earlier answered for them. “Well I asked for a glass of you earlier, but since you so _rudely_ denied me, my friends figured they come check you out as well.”

“You actually asked for a _tall_ glass of me.”

Sugawara turned his head as he laughed into his drink. The drunkard from earlier went beat red from embarrassment, turning his head between his companions.

“See what I fu-fuckin mean?” He still seemed to have a case of the hiccups. “He was rude like this earl-earlier too!”

The guy on the left leaned over the bar. He was the tallest of the three, his hair slightly past his shoulders and dark green. His eyebrows seemed permanently knitted together. If he didn’t look like he was going to kill Oikawa with his eyes, he might even be attractive.

“Apologize.” The guy had a deep voice, uttering his single worded sentence.

Oikawa would be damned if he did anything related to that. He wasn’t in the mood. Well he’s never in the mood for this bullshit, but he really wasn’t today. Especially for some dipshit who needed to get ‘back up’.

The bartender turned, picking up Sugawara’s glass and refilling it, ignoring the three newcomers all together. The green-haired guy didn’t budge, his eyes following Oikawa’s every move.

When it became obvious that Oikawa wasn’t going to do as the other commanded, the second guy that came in spoke up.

“Hey! My friend here’s kinda forward, but we’re just lookin’ out for our guy here.” He wrapped his arm around the drunk. “He said you were pretty cruel, and we don’t like when people are cruel to our pal. He was just trying to tell you you’re pretty! So, let’s just let bygones be bygones and we can grab a drink. How’s that sound?”

“Well, I already asked what you wanted, and you never told me.” Oikawa couldn’t help it. Couldn’t help it for the life of him to not get the last word in. It was a bad habit that needed curing, but not one that would get cured tonight.

Sugawara was a fit of laughter to the left of Oikawa. The three assholes kept shooting glances at him, but if Sugawara noticed, he couldn’t care less.

Mr. Nice Guy’s smile melted off his face at Oikawa’s comment. “Look here, buddy. I don’t know who you think you are but-”

“Tooru!”

All five of their heads turned towards the voice who called out to the bartender.

_Thank Jesus fuck._

Oikawa might’ve been having bad luck at work, but his friends knew how to turn that around almost instantly. Even though Oikawa told Tsukishima not to come, he ignored him and brought Kuroo along in tow.

The handsome duo walked over, a wide grin plastered on Kuroo’s face; a small grin on Tsukishima’s. Either they knew how to read a room, or they were both just happy to see him.

“Are _those_ friends of yours?”

Oikawa turned to Sugawara, a smirk growing on his face. “Absolutely.”

With the way the bartender smiled, the gray-haired man seemed to believe him.

Oikawa hadn’t even realized that Sugawara started growing tense, since he had been laughing at Oikawa’s exchange with the customers. Maybe he felt the tension in the air when they walked in, or by the way that Oikawa didn’t look happy to see them and was getting ready for things to get ugly.

Sugawara hardly knew Oikawa, and he looked ready to get in a fight for him.

Iwaizumi really had good taste when it came to his friends.

Kuroo and Tsukishima sauntered over, sliding in along the bar on the opposite side of Sugawara from the troublesome trio.

“Hey, Tooru! How’s your night?” Kuroo was all smiles.

Oikawa ignored him, turning to the blonde. “Tsukki-kun, I told you you didn’t have to come.”

“Yeah, well, last I checked, Tetsu was your dad, which makes me your dad, too. And parents don’t listen to their kids.”

“Uh, Oikawa, are you adopted or something?” Sugawara looked confusedly between the three of them.

Oikawa laughed, shaking his head. “No no no. These aren’t my dads. This is Kuroo Tetsurou,” he pointed at his dark-haired friend, while Kuroo bowed, “and this is Tsukishima Kei,” he moved his finger towards the blonde, who extended his hand in greeting.

Sugawara took Tsukishima’s hand, shaking it firmly. “Sugawara Koushi. Nice to meet you guys. I’m friends with your friends’ boyfriend.”

“Iwaizumi? Iwaizumi, huh? You’re friends with Iwaizumi?” Kuroo blurted out as he leaned over the bar to see Sugawara better, who was on the other side of Tsukishima. “He’s pretty cool, but like, where’s he been?”

Sugawara opened his mouth to answer, when Mr. Nice Guy from earlier cut him off. “Hey, asshole, we were talking here.”

Oikawa turned towards him. “Real original nickname ya got there.”

The veins in the other guys forehead matched the ones on his two friends. The drunk one started mumbling something, while the green-haired one stood up. Mr. Nice Guy leaned back, his eyes level on Oikawa.

“You gotta stick up your ass, and I think me and my boys here need to fix that.”

“Oya oya?” Kuroo moved from where he was splayed out on the bar and walked towards the trio.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Someone who likes Tooru’s stick where it is.” Kuroo stood directly in front of the other guy, standing a good couple inches above him.

“Tetsu-kun, I don’t have a stick up my ass,” Oikawa retorted.

In reality, the three of them weren’t trouble seekers. Since Oikawa began working at the bar, he’d seen his fair share of fights; Kuroo and Tsukishima being there to witness some as well. They never got involved though.

But this was Kuroo we’re talking about, and if someone threatened Oikawa or Tsukishima, he had absolutely no problem with showing them that his biceps were capable of more than just throwing his boyfriend around.

Oikawa didn’t enjoy watching other people fight in his bar, but when it came to douchebags like these guys, trying to have their way, he couldn’t help but want to smash their face into the bar. On top of that, Kuroo was a second away from decking the guy in front of him. Tsukishima wasn’t much of a fighter, but he wasn’t one to sit back and watch while his boyfriend did all the work. The blonde had gotten up from his stool, as Sugawara pivoted his stool towards them.

“You know what? Fuck you guys.” Mr. Nice Guy gestured to his companions, as he turned to leave. They gave him a pissed look, upset that they were leaving, but got up nonetheless.

Sugawara giggled quietly into his glass, while Oikawa picked up another glass of the bar.

The leader must’ve decided against leaving, when he turned around and stormed right back towards Kuroo - his lackeys in tow - and pulled his arm back, fist balled, and threw it at Kuroo.

Kuroo dodged his punch, leaning out of the way, before connecting his fist with the other man's jaw, _hard_. Mr. Nice Guy reeled back, his hand rubbing at where Kuroo had just punched him.

Tsukishima walked over from where he was standing, Sugawara getting up from his stool. Oikawa watched as Kuroo’s face broke out in a grin, satisfied with how his punch connected.

The two lackeys stayed where they were, waiting to see what they should do. The drunkard from the beginning didn’t look too enthralled at the idea of fighting, backing up behind his green-haired friend. The silent one stood firm, eyes boring into a grinning Kuroo.

Sugawara’s expression changed from a bubbly, carefree smile, to a dark, menacing one.

Oikawa absolutely, one-hundred percent, always wanted to be on his good side.

Glancing between the four of them, Mr. Nice Guy seemed to weigh his options. He rubbed his jaw, before mumbling. He turned and stormed out of the bar, the other two following close behind.

Tsukishima whistled. “Damn, you looked good.”

“Yeah,” Sugawara nodded his head as he sat back down, “that was a mean right hook!”

Kuroo laughed, drinking in the praise as he returned to his stool. He hardly got it from Tsukishima, so he’ll probably bask in it for the next two weeks.

“I was ready to break this glass over someone’s head,” Oikawa pouted.

“You didn’t pick it up to clean it?” Tsukishima questioned.

“Well yeah, but how often do _we_ get into fights? How often can I break a glass over someone’s head like they do in the movies?”

Sugawara laughed at their exchange. “Hopefully not very often.”

“Not often enough. I hardly find any!” Kuroo grinned, as he rolled up his sleeves, flexing his muscles. “I mean, c’mon, how often do I get to show these bad boys off?”

“You show them off to _me_ all the time,” Tsukishima murmured.

Oikawa got two glasses filled with what Kuroo and Tsukishima normally drink, while refilling Sugawara’s drink.

They continued on like that, laughing and exchanging stories of old bar fights they’ve seen. Just like Iwaizumi, Sugawara had fit in perfectly with the three of them.

 

* * *

 

Luck had been on Oikawa’s side the next three days.

He’d finished his project with Tendou in record time. They spent the entire day dedicated to it, hardly eating or talking to anyone who wasn’t them. They holed themselves up in Oikawa’s apartment, with enough water and food to last them the day.

He’d aced his test in his astronomy class (no surprise). He got a nice amount of tips at work the past two nights he worked, and no one tried to start any bar fights.

He’d stopped calling Iwaizumi the past three days, trying to give him some more space. Ever since Sugawara told him about his mom, Oikawa had been trying to think of a solid plan to show him that living every day, in the now, was worth it. He’d show him that if he continues to mull over what _can_ happen, that he’ll keep missing out on what _is_ happening.

Oikawa’s heart broke for Iwaizumi. He didn’t know the pain of losing a loved one, but the way his friend described it, it seemed to have been life altering for Iwaizumi. There wasn’t anything that Oikawa could do to change that, and he never hoped to take the place of his mother.

All he wanted was to help piece back together what was left of his heart, and fill the holes with pieces of his own.

After three days of racking his brain, he’d finally decided what would be the perfect solution. The perfect way to show his boyfriend that even though they can’t see tomorrow, they can bask in the warmth of today.

And that’s how Oikawa ended up in front of Iwaizumi’s door, as he listened to the beautiful melodies that seeped out from behind it, waiting to knock.

He was reminded of the last time he did this, under slightly different circumstances. He forgot how much he missed the sweet sound of the piano when Iwaizumi played it, and he refused to interrupt.

Oikawa clutched the tulips to his chest, his eyes closed as he filled his senses with them, mirroring the way Iwaizumi had when they went on their first date. They smelt lovely, and Oikawa could see why they were his favorites.

The music died down after he stood there for about ten minutes. He knocked on the door, patiently waiting with a quickened heartbeat.

When the door opened, it revealed a worn out looking man. His shirt hung off his shoulders, looking a size too big for his frame. His eyes had bags under them and his feet were bare.

Oikawa’s heart pitter pattered in his chest. He was so happy to finally see him, words couldn’t begin to express. His smile spread from ear to ear.

“Hi.”

“Oikawa. What’re you doing-”

“Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi blinked, confusion contorting his face. “What?”

“That’s what I decided on. We were gonna bet on that game of pool, but we never played it. But you and I both know I would’ve won. So the nickname I decided on is Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi stood in his door looking like a fish. His mouth hung open, as his hand that wasn’t on the door, fiddled with his shirt. His eyes downcast to his feet.

“Don’t you like it?”

The pianist shook his head. He looked happy to see Oikawa, but he couldn’t stop fidgeting with his shirt.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to storm out after meeting your friends. They probably hate me and-”

Oikawa held his hand up, palm facing Iwaizumi’s face. “Stop. I’m not here for that. I’m here to ask you out on a date.”

“You are?”

The brunette nodded. “It’s not weird to ask your boyfriend on a date is it?”

“Well no, but I thought you’d wanna talk about when I met your friends and about, uh well this.” He moved his hand between the two of them.

“This,” Oikawa gestured between the two of them, “is a relationship that we can work on. And yes I want to talk about that, but we can save that for another time.”

Oikawa pushed the flowers towards Iwaizumi before continuing. “So, this Saturday. Wear something casual. Okay?”

A small smile grew on his face, as he reached out, accepting them. “Purple again, huh?”

“Yeah. It means the ruler of your heart, right? So that’s why I’m giving them to you.”

Iwaizumi’s face grew beat red, nodding in agreement.

Oikawa will have to do more cheesy things like this, because seeing Iwaizumi blush like that was the actually cutest fucking thing he’s ever seen.

“Great! Well I’ll leave you to your piece, and I’ll pick you up at six. Sound good?”

“Thanks Oikawa.”

The bartender leaned in, cupping Iwaizumi’s face before kissing him. It was sweet, letting him know that he’s here for him, and showing how much he had missed him.

They pulled apart, Oikawa’s smile matching Iwaizumi’s.

“Bye, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa waved as he made his way down the hallway.

 

* * *

 

Oikawa gave himself a once over in the elevator before exiting.

He was wearing light jeans, a black hoodie with some design on it and gray converse. He pulled a few stray hairs out of his face, returning them to their rightful place on top of his head.

The doors dinged open, and he made his way to his boyfriend’s door. There wasn’t any music trapped behind the door today, so he knocked on it as soon as was in front of it.

Iwaizumi answered, dressed similar to Oikawa, in dark jeans, a gray sweatshirt and maroon Nike’s.

Oikawa was positive that Iwaizumi could wear a potato sac and he’d still be the most beautiful man he’d ever seen.

“Is this casual enough?”

The brunette beamed. “You look amazing. Perfect actually.” He offered his hand.

They laced their fingers together after Iwaizumi locked his door. Everything felt natural with Iwaizumi. Like they were born for each other.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Oikawa hummed his thanks, leaning in to kiss him, before the pianist continued. “So where are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there. Are you hungry?”

Iwaizumi hummed, like he had to think if he was hungry or not. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

“Great! ‘Cause I know just the place.”

They went to a nearby food truck. Oikawa had seen it a couple times and always wanted to try it, but never had the chance. Now, it was convenient and smelled delicious.

The two of them ordered subs, sitting on a nearby bench as they indulged.

Once they were done, they discarded their trash. Oikawa led the way, conversation filling the space between them, that Iwaizumi started.

“So I’ve told you a lot about flowers, right?”

“I’m not sure how much _a lot_ is, but I’d say so.”

“Okay, then how come you’ve hardly given me any nerdy space facts?”

“Why do I feel like you’re making fun of me?” Oikawa asked, shooting him a glare.

“I’m not, I swear! I think it’s cool. And if I’m gonna teach you new things, then you should teach me new things too, right?”

Iwaizumi might’ve had a good point there. Oikawa wasn’t against sharing, but once he got started, it was hard to stop him. People usually found this rather annoying, and Oikawa didn’t want to annoy Iwaizumi.

“Okay, well what do you want to know? ‘Cause there’s, like, _a lot_.”

“How about the planets? Tell me some cool things about them.”

The wind was cool, breezing past them, ruffling their hair as they walked down the empty sidewalk. The only light coming from lamp posts and the dim shine of the moon.

Oikawa put his thumb and finger on his chin in a thinking gesture. He really knew _a lot_ about outer space. Almost too much. It was his passion. He wanted to know what was out there. Wanted to know the inner workings of their solar system and possibly find answers to how this world came to be.

“Okay, well, did you know that if you put Saturn in water, it would float?”

Iwaizumi’s eyes shined as he smiled, shaking his head. “No, but that’s really cool! How do you know that?”

“Well, it’s less dense than water. Not like we could ever do the experiment, because there’s no known body of water big enough for that, but if there was, and if we could just yank the planet out of its orbit, it would absolutely float.”

“I always thought space was cool, but this is better than I thought. Tell me more.”

They continued like this the rest of the walk; Iwaizumi absorbing every detail that Oikawa was telling him, his eyes shining with excitement like he was a kid in a candy shop.

Iwaizumi knew a decent amount of general information, but not the nitty gritty that Oikawa had learned through multiple books, classes and individual research. Astronomy was the love of his life, his dream, and right now, he was sharing that love with someone who was finding their way towards that space in his heart.

Oikawa led them twenty minutes away from their apartments, up a grassy hill to a dome shaped building. There were two statues decorating the sides of the front door. They were gargoyle in shape, staring up into the sky.

They made their way to the front door, Oikawa announcing that they’d finally arrived. He knocked and was greeted by a short blonde girl and a taller green-haired man.

The blonde looked between the two of them, beaming at Oikawa. “Hey! Long time no see!”

“Seriously,” the green-haired one commented. “We haven’t seen you in forever, and when you finally hit us up, it’s for a _favor_.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! You know our schedules refuse to blend together.” Oikawa scratched the back of his head apologetically. “Oh, but let me introduce you!” He turned toward his boyfriend. “This is Iwaizumi Hajime. Iwa-chan,” he turned back towards the other two, “this is Yachi Hitoka and Yamaguchi Tadashi. We were in the same space camp throughout middle and high school.”

Iwaizumi grinned. “It’s nice to meet you guys. I wish I could say I’ve heard a lot about you, but I didn’t even know where we were going until right now.”

“It’s nice to meet you too man! Can’t say we’ve heard much about you either, other than the fact that Tooru-kun here wanted to do something really nice for you.” Yamaguchi ushered them inside, closing the door behind them.

“Tadashi, leave him alone. C’mon you guys, it’s this way.” Yachi gestured for them to follow as she started ascending the staircase to the right.

This observatory was one that Oikawa always wanted to visit, but never had the chance. It was barely a half hour from his house, but he just never found the time.

If he’s being honest with himself, it’s not that he didn’t have the time. It was more of the fact that he really liked Yamaguchi and Yachi, but just like with everyone else, he would still rather spend his time with Kuroo and Tsukishima than anyone else.

But since he’d met Iwaizumi, he’d really gotten comfortable with Tendou, and Sugawara seemed like someone he could spend more time with than not.

So maybe he should try harder with these two as well. They finally started dating their senior year in high school (after an immense amount of hinting and nudging from Oikawa). They fit well together and were always nice to Oikawa during the couple weeks of camp a year.

Maybe opening his circle just a tad bit wouldn’t be so bad.

They turned down a hallway to the left at the top of the stairs, following it to the end where a door was propped open. They slipped through, and inside housed the biggest telescope Oikawa had ever seen.

The ceiling was dome shaped, bracketed off in twenty-foot sections all around. The room was shaped in a circle, twenty or so chairs lining the wall behind a railing. The floor underneath the telescope was wooden, rounding off right before the railing.

They followed Yachi, stopping right before the carpeted area the chairs lined, met the wooden floor.

“Woah, look! There’s a space between the wood and carpet!” Iwaizumi exclaimed. “Oh, you can see through it! That’s a far drop.”

Yamaguchi laughed as Oikawa and Iwaizumi bent down, peering through the space between. “You’re right. The drop is about forty feet. That’s where the telescope is held up.” He gestured towards the massive blue telescope. “This baby is forty-seven feet long, with a thirty-inch lens. Pretty cool, huh.”

The couple nodded in agreement. Yamaguchi smirked before continuing, “This is the best part though.”

He made his way over to the base of the telescope, picking up a small square gray box. On it were six colored buttons. He waved his arm for the duo to come closer.

When he pushed one of the buttons, the wooden floor began to rise. A gasp escaped their mouths as they looked around. Five huge metal wheels were spinning, which was the cause of the floor moving.

As the floor began to move, a twenty-foot section of the ceiling began to part, exposing the dark night sky. Iwaizumi snaked his fingers into Oikawa’s, as they watched what was probably the coolest thing they’ve ever seen.

The sky was brighter now, illuminated by a countless number of stars. When they were walking to the observatory, the stars weren’t visible because of all the light pollution from downtown. This building however, was placed a nice distance away, on top of a hill, all alone.

With another push of a button, the huge telescope began to spin in the direction of the opened panels. Once it stopped, Yachi played with some dials on the end of the it.

“Okay guys, our job’s done here! So the place is all yours. We’ll be back tomorrow, early afternoon. Lock up when you’re done.” Yachi explained, moving towards the door they came in.

“Wait, you guys are leaving?” Iwaizumi questioned.

Yamaguchi nodded. “We only needed to set this telescope for tonight to take pictures every couple seconds.”

“We’re not gonna look through it?”

“No no no. This isn’t a telescope you can look through. This is one for digital analyzing. It’s how we can determine the temperature of stars, calculate their distance, and determine if there are any planets orbiting them.” Yamaguchi answered Iwaizumi as he and Yachi stood at the door, hand in hand.

“Right. So, then, what’re we doing here?”

“Ask your boyfriend. Don’t break anything, okay, Tooru-kun?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it! Thanks again!” Oikawa yelled over as the two love birds shut the door, leaving him and Iwaizumi alone.

“C’mon, we’re over here.” Oikawa interlaced their fingers, guiding Iwaizumi to the other side of the telescope. On the floor laid a blow up mattress, some snacks and wine coolers.

“This is us,” Oikawa gestured to the area in front of them.

“Are you trying to fuck me in an observatory?”

Oikawa laughed as he sat down, patting the space next to him. “No, but the show is in the sky, and I figured we should be comfortable.”

“The show?” Iwaizumi followed the brunette’s lead, sitting down next to him.

“Yeah, it’s the Lyrid meteor shower. Happens once a year, every year around this time.” He opened a strawberry daiquiri, handing one to Iwaizumi, then opening one for himself. “They’re created from debris of this comet called Thatcher.”

Iwaizumi took a swig of his drink. “They really come up with the weirdest names for things in outer space.”

“They come up with weird names for things in general. Like why do you park in a driveway-”

“And drive on a parkway?” Iwaizumi finished for him, the two breaking out into toothy grins.

A couple minutes pass, their drinks now empty and Oikawa snuggled up next to Iwaizumi. His head laid on the pianist’s shoulder, which snaked around under the brunette’s neck, holding his hand. They laid in silence, brushing fingers across skin when the sky lit up with a thin strip of light.

“Look, it’s starting!” Oikawa pointed up, right where the first meteor appeared.

They watched them fall for an hour. Pointing to different parts of the sky when they saw a streak of light appear. Their bodies flushed together, fingers intertwined and heartbeats mirroring one another.

Oikawa couldn’t help but think that they’ll watch every one of these meteor showers like this.

The time on their phones was quarter past eleven, the display of lights dying down. They’d both finished another two wine coolers. The air from outside slipped in from the open dome, the lights from the sky casting a dull glow on their faces.

“So, space camp, huh?”

Oikawa craned his neck up to show Iwaizumi his offended gaze. “Space camp is _cool_. You’re missing out.”

“Whatever. Nerd.”

Oikawa threw his hand over his boyfriend’s face while making an obnoxious noise. Iwaizumi laughed, grabbing Oikawa’s hand in his own.

“Oikawa. I feel like we should talk.”

“I think you’re right, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi huffed a sigh, rubbing his thumb along Oikawa’s hand. “I’m sorry for storming out like that. And for never explaining anything. I just don’t know how to start, or _where_ to start. This is really new for me, honest.”

“I know. I know. Actually, Suga-san came by the bar. He told me that you’ve gotten real good at holing yourself up.”

“Suga sure does talk a lot, doesn’t he?” His question was rhetorical, but Oikawa still had to hold back his answer.

Truthfully, he wanted to know what happened between the two of them. Wanted to know how and why Iwaizumi would break someone’s heart, especially someone like Sugawara. He didn’t want to pry though, so he rephrased his thoughts, asking a different question.

“You’re afraid, aren’t you? Suga-san kind of told me why.”

Oikawa wasn’t good at conversations like this. He never knew what to say to others when they were going through a hard time, other than _it’ll be okay_ , which wasn’t always the case. He never knew if the person needed physical contact that he was unwilling to give, advice, or just a kind listening ear.

“Well, if it wasn’t for Suga, I’d probably never get anywhere in life.” He kissed Oikawa’s head. “My mom was sick for a while, and it got worse when I was in college. I told you my major was undecided, which wasn’t a lie, but I always knew I wanted to do something with music. Anyway, I dropped out when she couldn’t take care of herself. She didn’t talk much anymore, hardly ever smiled. She _hated_ it, and I hated seeing her like that.”

Oikawa nuzzled closer to Iwaizumi as he continued. “The only time she had a smile on her face was when I’d play for her. It made her happy and it made me happy to see her that way. She always encouraged me to be the next Mozart, and that’s what I’m trying to do. When she died, it wasn’t unexpected, but I still didn’t know what to do.

“Suga was there with me through it all, and without him, I honestly don’t know what would’ve happened to me. Oikawa, I like you, _a lot_. I just, I just don’t know what’s gonna happen in the future and I don’t want to mess anything up.”

Oikawa played with their fingers, running them along each other as Iwaizumi explained everything to him. He already knew the brunt of it but hearing it from his boyfriend caused a different type of heartache in his chest.

He wanted to help Iwaizumi in any way he could, he just had to figure out how, day by day.

“No one knows what’s gonna happen tomorrow Iwa-chan.” He moved to rest on his elbows, facing Iwaizumi. “But I know what’s happening right _now_. And I know what I want to happen in the future.” He paused, looking up into the night sky. “Do you know why I brought you here, Iwa-chan?”

“Because you wanted to share something you enjoyed with me?”

Oikawa hummed. “Yes, and to show you that you can’t keep living your life in fear of the future.” He turned back to face Iwaizumi. “Do you know the difference between a meteor and a meteorite?”

The shorter male only shook his head, eyes asking for him to explain.

“A meteor is, quite simply, a rock from outer space that enters our atmosphere, but never touches the ground. A meteorite is the exact same except it impacts the Earth’s surface.”

“Okay, and you’re telling me this because…?”

“Because Iwa-chan, if we fret over wondering whether a rock from outer space will be a meteor or a meteorite, we’ll miss them entering our atmosphere. We’ll miss what we just got to witness right _now_. And wouldn’t you have hated to miss out on that beautiful meteor shower?”

Green eyes held coffee colored ones as they laid in silence, their bodies the only source of heat they had. Oikawa had mulled over how to show Iwaizumi how much he cared, how much he wanted to be his pillar of support. This science based heart to heart was the only thing he could come up with and be satisfied.

Science meets romance in the form of Oikawa Tooru.

“Oikawa, I’ve been a pretty big asshole, haven’t I?”

The brunette smiled, shaking his head as he took his place back on Iwaizumi.

“Everyone has their flaws, and this just happens to be yours.”

Iwaizumi murmured something that sounded like _thank you_ , as he ran his hand through Oikawa’s hair.

“Call me Tooru, okay?”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Please,” Oikawa whined.

“Tell me more science stuff, space camp.”

Oikawa smiled to himself, ignoring the jab as he began animatedly talking about their galaxy. He drew shapes with his hands, rolling over once in a while to look at Iwaizumi to make sure he was following.

They stayed like that, wrapped together in each other, sharing quiet kisses, with Iwaizumi soaking up everything his boyfriend said, until they drifted off to sleep, the stars shining down on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually the biggest astronomy nerd, and I'm literally Oikawa in this chapter. Once I start talking about it, i'll spew random facts all day.  
> The Lyrid meteor shower is actually a real meteor shower that takes place towards the end of April each year.  
> Timeline wise, this began in early December. This chapter puts us in late April, in case you were wondering.  
> All the astronomy facts are real I promise!(:  
> A huge thanks to my editor in chief, TsukkiSaur


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School kicked my ass, but I'm back and I passed stats! Sorry this took seventy years, but without further ado, chapter 8!

“Tooru-kun?”

“Mm, five more minutes.”

“Tooru-kun.”

Oikawa groaned, rubbing his eyes. When he opened them, he was met with a familiar head of green hair.

“Yama-san?” Oikawa yawned. “What’re you doing here?”

“More like what’re _you_ still doing here?” Yamaguchi gestured around him.

The brunette sat up, peering around his environment. Surely enough, he was still in the observatory from last night. In between talking Iwaizumi’s ear off and enjoying the ending of the meteor shower, he must’ve dozed off.

He looked to his right and saw Iwaizumi, looking more peaceful than he ever has before. He was still sleeping, his face free of all lines of worry. Oikawa thought he looked like an angel, arms crossed over each other on his side. He was lying on his left, facing Oikawa. Iwaizumi was beautiful in every sense of the word.

“What time is it?” Oikawa looked back at Yamaguchi, who made his way over to the telescope where Yachi was.

“About noon. We told you we’d be back early afternoon, but we didn’t expect you to still be here.”

“Mornin’ Tooru-kun!” Yachi piped up.

“Mm, mornin’.” He stretched his arms above him. “Sorry, we’ll get outta your hair.” Oikawa laid back down, turning to Iwaizumi and started slowly shaking him awake.

Iwaizumi woke up similar to the way Oikawa did, rubbing his eyes and groaning, “What?”

“C’mon, Iwa-chan.”

Instead of obliging, he rolled over, covering his head with his hands.

Oikawa laughed. “Iwa-chan! It’s already noon!”

“Five more minutes,” Iwaizumi grumbled.

Before Oikawa could protest again, Iwaizumi rolled over, wrapping his arms around a wiggling brunette and pulling him close.

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa laughed as he kicked his feet, but wasn’t really trying too hard to escape. Iwaizumi smiled, pecking Oikawa’s cheek, then his forehead, then his neck. They fidgeted around, melting into soft kisses and giggles.

As the two rolled around, a loud pop rang out and the plush air mattress underneath them was replaced with hardwood. When they looked up, they were met with a smug smirk on Yamaguchi’s face.

“Yama-san! Why’d you do that!?”

Yamaguchi spun the scissors in his hand. “As much as I love watching you guys roll around and have sex with your clothes on-”

“We were not having sex-”

“Our boss is coming by to check out the place. So you gotta fuck somewhere else.”

“We were not!” Oikawa huffed, crossing his arms in defeat.

“You’re so cute when you get all salty.”

“Iwa-chan, stay out of this.” Oikawa chastised. “And I’m not salty!”

Iwaizumi giggled as he stood up to begin cleaning their mess. He pushed a grumbling Oikawa off of the flattened air mattress, rolling it up. “Tooru, can you grab the bottles?”

Oikawa screamed, spinning around to face Iwaizumi with a toothy grin.

“What?”

“You called me Tooru! Awe, Iwa-chan!”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, “Shut up, space camp.”

“Iwa-chan!”

 

* * *

 

 “Thanks again, you guys. This was amazing!”

“Anytime, Tooru-kun!” Yachi squeaked as she and Yamaguchi stood in the doorway.

“Don’t tell him that Hitoka. He’ll think you’re serious.” Yamaguchi smirked.

“Well that’s because I am!” She turned back to Oikawa and Iwaizumi. “I- _we_ missed you.” She smiled gingerly. “And it was nice to meet you Iwaizumi-san.”

“Likewise. This place is amazing. I bet working here is one of the coolest jobs out there.” Iwaizumi looked up, squinting the sun out of his eyes as he marveled at the large dome shape he couldn’t the night before.

“It’s definitely up there. I’m way too nervous to ever go up into outer space, so I think this is the next best thing.”

“That’s why I’d be the astronaut and you guys would be my two right hand men!” Oikawa perked up. “And if something ever goes wrong, you guys would be my Houston.”

“Your Houston?” Iwaizumi questioned.

The three of them shared a look and began laughing. Iwaizumi stood awkwardly, waiting to be clued in on the inside joke.

“When we were younger, we’d play astronauts.”

“Astronauts?”

“Yeah,” Oikawa nodded. “We drew straws to see who would be the astronaut-”

“And who would be ground control.” Yamaguchi finished for him.

“So, Tooru drew the straw to be the astronaut, making Tadashi and I ground control.” Yachi continued where the boys left off. “Or NASA I guess you could say.”

Iwaizumi nodded in understanding. “But I don’t get the Houston thing.”

“You know how when astronauts are in trouble, they radio back to Earth?”

The pianist nodded before Oikawa continued. “Well the phrase they use is ‘Houston, we have a problem,’ so these two were my Houston's!”

Iwaizumi smiled, nodding his understanding as he looked between the three of them. It was a nice sight, Oikawa smiling and laughing with others.

The sun beat down, warming them up after a cool breeze chilled them. Oikawa was happy, talking about nothing in particular with the two love birds, with Iwaizumi by his side. It was a comfort he’d longed for, for quite some time.

“Alright, well we should go,” Oikawa turned to leave, Iwaizumi following suit. “Oh, and Yama-san, you owe be twenty bucks for the bed!”

Yamaguchi smiled, as he snaked his arm around Yachi’s waist. “Actually, you guys got in for free _and_ got a free stay. So I’d say we’re even.”

Oikawa started to protest when Iwaizumi snaked their fingers together, tugging him along. He yelled over his shoulder, “Thanks again you guys! I hope we can meet up again soon!”

 

* * *

 

 “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?”

“That burning smell, you idiot!” Oikawa yelled from the bedroom.

“The only thing burning out here is me,” Kuroo answered in a wry voice.

“I’m being serious!”

Oikawa emerged from his bedroom, new jeans and a plain dark v-neck on. Tsukishima was laying across the couch, reading a book and Kuroo was occupying the kitchen.

After they’d left the observatory, somehow Iwaizumi wasn’t tired of Oikawa yet, and suggested having dinner with Kuroo, Tsukishima and Sugawara. Oikawa happily nodded, ecstatic that his boyfriend was the one to come up with the idea _and_ wanted to include everyone.

Oikawa could feel himself growing as a person, thanks to Iwaizumi Hajime. This man was amazing. He smacked Oikawa out of his simple, close minded thinking and has opened his eyes to see all that he’s been missing out on.

Tendou and him have become more than just annoyed classmates, Sugawara is a pleasant guy that Oikawa wouldn’t mind getting to know more about, and he definitely plans on reaching out to Yamaguchi and Yachi again soon.

“Oh shit,” Kuroo mumbled.

“Whaddya mean ‘oh shit,’ Tetsu-kun?”

Kuroo rubbed the back of his head, offering a guilty smile. “I might’ve forgotten to set the timer and uh, dinner might be a lil’ crispier than it should be.”

“Tetsurou!”

“I’m sorry!” he pleaded. “Tsukki, help me out here!”

The blonde closed his book, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Sorry, but you’re on your own. When he uses your full name, it’s a done deal.”

“But he never uses your full name,” Kuroo pouted.

“That’s because I’m not an idiot.”

Oikawa rushed in the kitchen, shoving Kuroo away from the oven. When he opened it, he was met with very black, very inedible food that was previously their dinner. He pulled it out and placed it on top of the stove, sighing in disbelief.

He turned his dissatisfied eyes towards Kuroo, who began to slowly back away from him.

“Listen, babe, I’m sorry..” Kuroo murmured.

“Don’t call me babe.” Oikawa took two steps forward. “Any last words?”

“You’re a monster when you’re hungry.”

“It’s called _hangry_ , Tetsu!” Tsukishima so kindly yelled over.

While Oikawa chased Kuroo around, fear swimming in the taller man's eyes, Tsukishima dialed out on his phone. After he hung up, he found the two in a heap on the floor. Oikawa was holding Kuroo in a painful position, his right arm locked between the brunette’s legs. Oikawa was pulling on it with his arms, while Kuroo tapped the floor repeatedly to signify his surrender.

The blonde laughed at the sight. “I just ordered the pizza. I hope Iwaizumi-san and Sugawara-san are okay with pepperoni or extra cheese.”

At the sound of pizza, the murderous aura seeping from Oikawa disappeared, as he smiled. “Awe, Tsukki-kun, yay! You’re the best!”

“Le-let. Let go.” Kuroo gasped, still trying to pull away from Oikawa, who still hadn’t let up on his grip in the slightest.

“Tell me I give the best head and I will.”

“I wo-won’t lie!”

Oikawa hardened his grip, pulling at his arm a little more. “Say it!”

“Actually I think I give the best head.”

“This is between me and Tetsu-kun.” Oikawa remarked.

Tsukishima squatted next to them. “Only ‘cause you know my head’s the best.”

Oikawa smirked, returning his attention back to Kuroo. “Fucking say it, or I’ll never let go.”

“I-I’d rath-rather die.” Kuroo grinned painfully.

“I’ll miss you, old friend.”

Oikawa arched his back, ready to pull on Kuroo’s arm when fingers clutched around his sides. The brunette let out a squeak, his hands letting go of Kuroo’s arm and reaching for the hands that were now gripping at his sides.

Tsukishima moved his hands up and down Oikawa’s torso, drawing out panted laughs from the brunette. “Tsu-Tsukki-kun! Ha. Stop!”

Kuroo rolled away from Oikawa’s dangerous legs, massaging his shoulder. “Thanks, babe!”

Oikawa kicked away from the blonde, rolling onto all fours with a murderous gaze in his eyes. Oikawa’s biggest weak point was being tickled, and Tsukishima knew just the right spots to attack.

“Traitor.”

“Even though I give the best head,” Tsukishima stretched, “Tetsu’s still pretty good.”

“Excuse you, but it’s the best.” Kuroo smirked. “Oh! Did you order pineapple pizza too?”

Oikawa made a disgusted face as he stood up. “You’re repulsive.”

“Nu-uh,” Kuroo wagged his finger in front of him, “I eat the pineapple to taste better for Tsukki.”

The brunette gagged, flopping down on the couch, Tsukishima joining him.

“No pineapple. You’re the reason we had to order out in the first place.” Tsukishima chastised.

Kuroo’s shoulders sagged. “But babe!”

“And you’re paying.”

“That’s not fair!”

Oikawa was about to join the fight, but the at knock at the door had him back on his feet. Sugawara and Iwaizumi had finally arrived. A smile decorated his face as he walked over to open the door.

Before he could open the door, he heard muffled voices on the other side.

_“You should tell him.”_

_“Leave me alone. He shouldn’t know.”_

_“That’s unfair and you know it.”_

_“It’s_ my _life.”_

_“I’m in your life!”_

Oikawa’s face scrunched, as he tried to make out the voices, but between the angry tones and hushed voices, he couldn’t tell who was who. Before it got any further, he opened the door.

Iwaizumi looked upset, but smiled at the sight of his boyfriend. Sugawara looked uncomfortable, but his face relaxed once he saw Oikawa.

“Is everything okay?” Oikawa asked.

Sugawara and Iwaizumi shared a look, before answering in unison. “Yeah.”

The pianist held up his arms. “We brought alcohol.”

That he did. In both their hands were two cardboard six packs of flavored Seagrams wine coolers.

“Did I hear alcohol?!” Kuroo shouted.

Oikawa shook himself out of his daze, shelving his current questions and disbelief in the back of his mind for a later time.

He moved to the side, opening the door wider. “Come in.”

 

* * *

 

 “Did you know that Hajime didn’t know the bases?”

“Koushi. Shut. Up.” Iwaizumi half growled, half laughed.

Kuroo made an excited noise with a mouth full of pizza. Tsukishima seemed more invested than normal in the conversation and Oikawa’s face lit up with a mischievous glint.

“Do tell.” Oikawa picked up another piece of pizza.

“Okay, so he was like the super virgin right? Well, you still kinda are, huh?” Sugawara laughed.

“Koushi, I swear to god.” Iwaizumi threatened.

“Anyways, so we were out to eat and this couple was making out behind us-”

“What kind of restaurants do you eat at?” Tsukishima interrupted.

Sugawara laughed. “The normal kind, I swear!” He took a sip of his drink. “These guys were just an exception.”

“Tsukki, we should start being an exception.” Kuroo suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

Oikawa shoved a slice of pizza down his throat. “Go on, Suga-san.”

“Or you could talk about anything else,” Iwaizumi mumbled.

“Anyways, so Hajime looked over and was like, ‘Wow. Second base already. They gonna have sex next?’ And I laughed but then I was like, ‘Wait, what do you think the bases are?’”

“Here we go.” Iwaizumi downed the rest of his drink, opening another.

“He thought that first base was holding hands, second base was making out and third base was sex.” Sugawara laughed, along with the other three at the table.

“Wow, Iwa-chan. A lot happens between your second and third base.” Oikawa snorted out.

“Oh my god, I was fucking fourteen. Leave me alone.”

“I knew all about sucking dick at eleven. No excuses.” Tsukishima so helpfully supplied.

Kuroo got up, gathering the garbage into the empty pizza boxes to throw away. “Are we all just gonna ignore the fact that Iwaizumi here doesn’t know how to play baseball?”

Oikawa hummed. “You’re right. Iwa-chan, whaddya have to say for yourself?”

“I was fourteen!”

Sugawara laughed. “Oh, I asked him about it. He said he forgot.” He made air quotes around the word ‘forgot’.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, before getting up and walking over to the kitchen. He helped Kuroo with the garbage, putting a new bag in the garbage can while Kuroo tied up the full one.

After cleaning up, Iwaizumi dug through the cupboards, pulling out a long, tall bottle of vodka. “I need a shot, or maybe four.” He turned towards the other four. “You guys in?”

“Hell yeah!” Kuroo hopped over.

“That’s my vodka, Iwa-chan.”

“I know. And this is my hand holding it. What’s your point?”

Iwaizumi poured them all shots as they gathered around in the kitchen. Once they were all armed with alcohol, Sugawara asked, “What should we toast to?”

“Good head,” Tsukishima cooed.

“Back breaking sex,” Kuroo winked.

Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi. “Each other.”

“Each other,” Iwaizumi echoed, smiling at Oikawa.

They all lifted their glasses, clinking them together, before downing them. The vodka coated Oikawa’s throat, leaving a warm and stinging after taste.

The night continued on similarly, with four more shots to whatever the hell Kuroo and Tsukishima decided to offer up. They told old embarrassing stories about each other from middle and high school days. Played a couple cards games, that Sugawara and Tsukishima kept winning at. Even though Oikawa and Iwaizumi are unbeatable at video games, they stood no chance against Sugawara at Poker, or Tsukishima at Egyptian War. Kuroo suggested strip poker before they started, but Iwaizumi talked them out of it, and thank god he did, or else they’d all be sitting around Oikawa’s table naked.

They laughed, drank and Oikawa couldn’t have possibly been happier with his company. He stole a kiss here and there from Iwaizumi, who was more than happy to give them away. Tsukishima stopped playing cards after a while, claiming that winning all the time was boring, and ended up in Kuroo’s lap.

They talked about school, work and Tsukishima asked what Sugawara was doing. Sugawara told them how he is an intern at the local hospital, and is working on his master’s.

All five of them had such high hopes and big dreams for the future. Iwaizumi wanted to be the next best pianist. Tsukishima was striving to be a well known artist. Kuroo planned to move on to Google and accomplish great things. Sugawara hoped to help people in anyway he can, and Oikawa wanted to travel to space and explore their galaxy. All five of them were amazing in their own rights.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa shifted to the GameCube, while Kuroo laid on the couch watching them, and Sugawara and Tsukishima remained at the table talking about anything and everything.

They were all pretty tipsy, working on borderline drunk. Sugawara and Tsukishima switched over to water, trying to sober themselves up. Oikawa, Iwaizumi and Kuroo on the other hand, were still steadily trying to cross the line from tipsy to drunk.

Oikawa challenged Iwaizumi to Drunk Mario Kart and of course, Iwaizumi accepted. The beautiful bartender made their drinks, since they ran out of the wine coolers earlier, and Kuroo yelled over that he wanted one as well.

“You aren’t playing, Tetsu-kun.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t drink.”

Oikawa hummed, smirking to himself as he made sure Kuroo got an extra strong drink. One that would definitely stop his drinking reign for the night.

He handed Kuroo and Iwaizumi their drinks. Iwaizumi placed his down, waiting for the race and Kuroo took a drink of his, making a sour face.

“Tooru, what the fuck?”

“What?” Oikawa asked innocently.

“This tastes like garbage.” Kuroo hiccupped. “Did you do this on purpose?”

“Me?” He put his hand on his chest overdramatically. “I would never.”

Kuroo took another swig. “Joke’s on you, ‘cause momma didn’t raise no bitch.” With that, he began steadily drinking the rest of the seventy percent alcohol and thirty percent Coke mixture.

“C’mon, space camp. Let’s race,” Iwaizumi grinned.

“Oh, Iwa-chan. Eager to lose?”

They bumped shoulders as they chose their characters and cars. Kuroo kept mumbling behind them, betting against himself on who the winner would be. Once their track was chosen, they stared each other down one last time.

“Any bets this time?” Iwaizumi asked.

Oikawa sat silently for a minute. “How about some good old fashion bragging rights?”

“Deal.”

The red lights counted down.

Four, three, two, one.

The light turned green and Iwaizumi was off in first place immediately. Oikawa’s car hadn’t moved however, because he was chugging his drink at the very beginning.

“Tooru, you gotta drive!” Kuroo complained.

Oikawa finished gulping down his drink, picked up his controller and drove. At this point, Iwaizumi was almost a full lap ahead of him. Even with the alcohol swimming through them, they were both extremely competitive and excellent drivers, dodging the computers and avoiding all the bananas.

Iwaizumi kept his easy lead, finishing the first, then second and working on his third lap. He still hadn’t touched any of his alcohol, and Oikawa was slowly gaining, moving from eighth place, to seventh and now sat in fourth.

Right before Iwaizumi was about to pass the finish line, he pumped the brakes, stopping right in front of the line. He discarded his controller, picking his drink up and chugging as fast as humanly possible. As he drank, Oikawa caught up, making his way towards the finish on his final lap.

As soon as Iwaizumi finished his drink and picked up his controller, Oikawa passed him, coming in first place.

“Ha. Ha! I win!” Oikawa sang out, gloating in his boyfriend’s face, just as promised.

“Hey, Iwaizumi-san! If you squeeze him right under his ribs, you can shut him up!”

Oikawa froze in place, meeting Iwaizumi’s sly gaze. “Is that so?”

The brunette laughed nervously, backing away. “Hey, we made a bet!”

“That was before Tsukishima-kun told me something so fun.” Iwaizumi smiled, as he started chasing a running Oikawa around the apartment. Oikawa wasn’t ready to be tortured again, and it showed, as he jumped over the couch, slid across the floor in his socks and threw pillows at Iwaizumi. It worked for a couple minutes, until Tsukishima ‘accidentally’ stuck his leg out too far and tripped Oikawa, landing him directly in Iwaizumi’s waiting arms.

Oikawa kicked, laughed, panted and cried out as Iwaizumi attacked his sides, squeezing right where the blonde had told him to. Oikawa swore to himself that if he ever got out of Iwaizumi’s grip, Tsukishima was a dead man.

“Hey, do you guys wanna hear about the time I taught Hajime what ‘tossing salad’ meant?” Sugawara asked, winking down at Iwaizumi as he did.

Iwaizumi forgot about his desire to tickle Oikawa senseless, standing up and stalking over to Sugawara. “I don’t think they do.”

Kuroo, given new life, popped his head up from behind the couch. “Oh, ye-he-es we do!”

“Were you fourteen when you learned this too, Iwaizumi-san?”

“Tsukishima-kun, you used to be my favorite,” Iwaizumi moaned.

Tsukishima smirked. “That never lasts long.”

“Okay, so we were playing truth or dare-”

Oikawa sat on the floor breathless, content on listening to any story that had Iwaizumi involved, or even Sugawara at this point. They were full of fun, laughs and interesting stories. He watched Iwaizumi try to bully Sugawara into stopping by wrestling him, throwing pillows at him and kicking his chair, but Sugawara seemed to master the ability to multitask, with embarrassing his best friend and enduring his idle threats a long time ago.

Oikawa sat on the floor, thinking about how he’d been missing out on a life like this for far too long.

 

* * *

 

Their semester ended and with it came hotter weather, full bloomed flowers, open pools and the smell of adventure.

Oikawa only liked summer when he was in some type of water, but it was better than winter. He’d rather be in shorts without a shirt on, than bundled up in seven layers and still shiver.

With summer came more free time, which Oikawa usually filled up with more shifts at the bar. It was the perfect time to get extra cash and not have to worry about missed assignments or upcoming exams.

This year however, Oikawa had Iwaizumi, and although he still wanted that extra money, he wanted extra time to spend with his boyfriend as well.

Oikawa didn’t want to smother Iwaizumi with his company, but he absolutely wanted to smother him with his company.

“Hey, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked, as he handed Iwaizumi the now cleaned plate to be dried.

The pianist took the plate, drying it before stacking it back into his cupboard. “Yeah?”

“Whaddya like to do in the summer?”

Iwaizumi hummed. “I guess what everyone else likes to do? Swim, camp and fish. I just go with the flow. You?”

Oikawa handed over the last glass, turning the water off. “Same, I guess. Although I haven’t been camping or fishing in a long time.”

“Do the worms gross you out?” Iwaizumi teased.

“No, I just haven’t had the time.”

“You’re totally afraid of the worms.”

“Are not!”

“Okay okay, whatever you say.” Iwaizumi shut the cupboard door, turning to his boyfriend. “Why’d you ask?”

“Just cause.” Oikawa shrugged.

“Space camp.”

“Okay. I just, well I was wondering if you worked more or not. ‘Cause if you didn’t, maybe we could hang out more, since ya know, school’s over til the fall and everything.”

Iwaizumi tilted his head, knitting his eyebrows. “Well, yeah, isn’t that what we were already doing?”

Oikawa hadn’t thought about it, but they’d already begun to see each other more and more everyday. His semester ended almost a month ago, and although he’d picked up more shifts at work, he’d seen Iwaizumi a lot more. Their accidental sleepovers on each other’s couches became planned sleepovers in their beds. They cooked dinner together most nights and met up for a drink or two when Oikawa was working, sometimes with Tsukishima, Kuroo and Sugawara in tow.

The closer they grew, the more Oikawa forgot what it felt like to be alone. He’d spent almost all his summers working extra shifts and seeing his only two friends every time he was off. They’d stay up late, drink some alcohol (illegally, once upon a time) and fall asleep on Oikawa’s roof as they stared up at the stars, talking about their futures.

But now, Iwaizumi was officially a comfortable constant in his life. When he wasn’t around, Oikawa felt _lonely_. It was a new feeling, sort of disgusting if he’s honest, but an oddly welcomed feeling at the same time. It showed him how much he’s really changed, and he liked it.

“I just didn’t want to suffocate you,” Oikawa mumbled, looking down at the floor sheepishly.

“Suffocate me?” Iwaizumi laughed, lifting the brunette’s head by his chin. “I like spending time with you too, idiot.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes were full of endearment, a smile lighting up his face. His normally spiky hair was falling around his face, lining his features. His shirt was open around his neck, exposing his fair olive colored skin. He smelled so good, Oikawa wanted to drown in it.

Oikawa mirrored his face, breaking out in a toothy smile. He really liked Iwaizumi and thought about how lucky he was everyday.

“Then let’s plan a camping trip!”

“Right now?” Iwaizumi asked, dropping his hand from Oikawa’s chin and walking over to his piano.

“Yeah!” Oikawa followed, plopping down on the couch. “We can bring Suga-san and Tsukki-kun and Tetsu-kun! Don’t you think that’d be fun? Oh, and we can fish too!”

“I’m not putting the worm on the hook for you.”

“I’m not afraid of the worms!”

Iwaizumi laughed, lifting the cover to the keys as he sat down before the mahogany instrument. A breeze rustled the flowers on top of the piano, which offset the color of the brown so beautifully. Oikawa had made it a habit of buying different types of flowers for Iwaizumi to decorate his piano with. The sun shone on him, making him look like an angel, ready to soothe all the ale’s of the world with his playing.

The pianist’s smile grew wider as his began to play, his fingers dancing along graciously as they always did, creating the most beautiful melody Oikawa has ever heard. He danced with the music, his fingers looking as if they were pounding out the sounds, but the music rang out softly and melodically.

Oikawa sank down into the couch, leaning his arms on the back of the it as he listened. He kept his eyes open, watching the beauty before him that was Iwaizumi Hajime. The sound matched the sight before him, making Oikawa drunk with infatuation as he couldn’t tear his gaze away.

Nothing will ever sound better than the music Iwaizumi created, and Oikawa planned to listen to it for the rest of his days.

 

* * *

 

They went camping - oh, how they went camping.

They found a nice four day weekend where they could all get off and went an hour away to a well known camping sight.

Tsukishima didn’t want to go at all. He refused to even partake in the planning and assured them that he’d watch their apartments while they were away. The day they were leaving however, the blonde was the first packed, a book in his hand and headphones on top of his head as he ignored the other four piling in the car.

They fished, Oikawa proving his point of not being afraid of worms by playing with them in the container they were purchased in.

Iwaizumi and Kuroo bet on who could catch the most fish, splitting up on opposite ends of the lake. Tsukishima kept to his book, while Oikawa and Sugawara sat at the end of a dock, enjoying the wind and the shouts of Iwaizumi and Kuroo.

Kuroo lost by one fish, but Iwaizumi lost to Sugawara by six fish.

Iwaizumi and Kuroo offered to cook the fish, while Oikawa, Sugawara and, surprisingly Tsukishima, hunted for more firewood. When the three of them came back, their fish were charcoaled and their tent was on fire.

They slept outside under the stars on empty stomachs. Kuroo tried to cuddle up next to Tsukishima as he apologized profusely, while the blonde pretended to be asleep, rolled over away from him.

Oikawa snuggled up next to Iwaizumi, who felt extremely bad about the tent. Oikawa didn’t mind, being next to him while looking up into the clear night sky was one of his favorite things. Sugawara was on the other side of Iwaizumi, next to Tsukishima, laying on his back enjoying the view just as much as Oikawa.

 

* * *

 

Oikawa hosted his first barbeque at his parents’ house. They were out of town, but their house wasn’t awfully far from where his apartment was.

Iwaizumi grilled, after Kuroo insisted he’d do it, but everyone threatened his life. He invited the same four boys who went on the camping trip, but also extended the invitation to Yamaguchi, Yachi and even Tendou, who brought his new boyfriend Ushijima along.

They drank, laughed, played games and ate unburnt meat (thanks to Iwaizumi).

Kuroo stole Tsukishima’s drink, chugging it all. The blonde kept silent and disappeared somewhere into the house. When he came back out, he had two water guns, one in each hand.

“They were where they always are.” Tsukishima grinned, his blonde eyes shining in the sun.

“Tsukki, wait!” Kuroo sprang up, running to the farthest side of the patio. “If you do this, there’s no going back.”

“You should’ve thought about that before you drank my shit!” he yelled, firing his first shots.

They chased each other around the yard, Tsukishima finally landing a couple shots on his dark-haired boyfriend. Kuroo began dramatically limping, falling in the grass. The blonde walked over to him, holding the gun above him.

“Any last words?”

Kuroo dragged in a breath. “Get another fish-” he fake coughed, “-and name it after me.”

“No.” Tsukishima smirked and shot Kuroo, who now laid dead on the ground.

“Kuroo!” Iwaizumi yelled, running over. He kneeled down next to the now dead Kuroo, looking up at the blonde. “How could you?!”

“The same way I can do this.” He aimed his gun at Iwaizumi.

“Iwa-chan! Get away from him!” Oikawa sprang up, but it was too late. He doused the pianist in water, who landed right next to Kuroo.

Tsukishima smiled, the fun he was having dancing all across his face and he wasn’t trying to hide it like he normally did, which showed how comfortable he was with his company. He turned towards the others, guns at the ready.

“Suga-san! Grab the hose! Keep him away and I’ll grab the other guns,” Oikawa instructed, as Sugawara nodded, following his orders. The hose didn’t reach far, but it did its job of keeping Tsukishima away while Oikawa dashed inside.

When he came back out, all hell had broken loose.

Tsukishima somehow made his way around the hose, crouching behind a chair, shooting at Yamaguchi and Tendou. The two were throwing their cups of water in Tsukishima’s direction, but their aim was piss poor awful and the blonde remained dry.

Yachi and Ushijima backed up towards the other side of the patio, settling in the corner and playing some form of card game. They peeked over at the water fight a couple times when Yamaguchi and Tendou would yell odd battle cries as they rolled from chair to chair.

Sugawara was restricted to the opposite side of Tsukishima, the hose only reaching so far. When reaching the blonde became impossible, he turned his attention towards Kuroo and Iwaizumi, who were now arm wrestling in the grass. When Sugawara started dousing them with the hose, they rolled away, hands still connected. They smiled at each other before separating. Iwaizumi ran right at his middleschool friend, while Kuroo ran around him, grabbing the hose and yanking it away from Sugawara.

Oikawa yelled over to Tendou and Yamaguchi, getting their attention before throwing two filled water guns at them. They smiled, thanking Oikawa for their much awaited weapons, and began shooting away at the Tsukishima.

After arming the rambunctious duo, he ran by Yachi and Ushijima, snagging a couple chips. He started shooting at Kuroo and Iwaizumi, trying to get them away from Sugawara.

“Hey! I thought you were trying to avenge us!” Kuroo yelled.

Oikawa shot him right in the mouth, tossing the second gun to Sugawara. “Only Iwa-chan.”

Their water war continued on for another ten minutes.

Tsukishima somehow got Yamaguchi and Tendou while staying dry. He made his way over to Oikawa and Sugawara, who were trying hard not to get drenched by the hose.

“Tsukki-kun! Help us out here!” Oikawa yelled over as he saw the blonde approaching.

Tsukishima smiled. He raised his guns, shooting the backs of Sugawara and Oikawa. They turned around, mouths hung open.

“Tsukki-kun.” The two fell to the ground, backs against each other. “Why?”

The blonde picked up their guns, tossing his now empty ones. “I work alone.”

“He’s so cool.” Sugawara murmured.

Kuroo held the hose, kinking it so no water came out. Iwaizumi stood next to him, sleeves rolled up. When they saw Tsukishima approaching, Iwaizumi grabbed a water bottle and Kuroo aimed the hose at him.

“Hey there, Tsukki.”

“Don’t you guys know the rules? Once you’re shot, you’re dead.”

Iwaizumi and Kuroo looked at each other, mirroring toothy grins. “Yeah, well, cats have nine lives!”

“Iwaizumi, you’re not a cat.”

“Yeah, but you are and you shared some lives with me!”

“Oh shit, that’s smart!” Kuroo nodded.

“I know.” Iwaizumi grinned.

Tsukishima smirked, unable to believe that Kuroo was his boyfriend and that Iwaizumi was almost just as bad as him. He started shooting at them while they talked about cat lives, barely missing but grabbing their attention.

Kuroo unkinked the hose, trying to spray Tsukishima, while Iwaizumi ran around flinging the opened water bottle at the blonde, trying desperately to get him wet.

Oikawa and Sugawara went over to Yachi, Yamaguchi, Tendou and Ushijima and started munching on more chips as they watched who would be the water king. Tendou and Yamaguchi were yelling over ‘get him’ and ‘ooo nice!’ in their direction as they intently watched. Yachi and Ushijima were still playing cards.

Tsukishima was about to shoot Iwaizumi, when nothing but air came out. He sighed, dropping his gun and turning to the two dark-haired men. “I’m out.”

“Not until we soak you!” Kuroo yelled. “Iwaizumi, grab him!”

As instructed, Iwaizumi grabbed hold of Tsukishima’s wrist, pulling him over to Kuroo.

“Any last words, Tsukki?”

“I give the best head.”

Kuroo smiled, dousing his boyfriend with the hose.

Iwaizumi and Kuroo hugged, running over to the others and high fiving Tendou and Yamaguchi. Those four were extremely into the game and all extremely happy to beat Tsukishima.

 

* * *

 

They laid out in the yard to sun dry their wet clothes, poor Tsukishima having the longest dry time since he was literally soaking wet.

The sun lowered and the moon rose. The temperature fell a couple degrees and Iwaizumi started a fire in the stone firepit, while Oikawa and Tsukishima grabbed ingredients for s'mores. Kuroo went hunting for some sticks for the marshmallows, Yamaguchi and Tendou tagging along.

They all gathered around the fire, laughing about the day they spent together.

Oikawa sidled up next to Iwaizumi, kissing his cheek and eventually stealing a few sweet kisses. He tasted like chocolate and burnt marshmallows and Oikawa had never tasted something so sweet before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter. I love my boys. If you haven't played Drunk Mario Party, you definitely should!  
> Shout out to [ tsukkisaur](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukkisaur/pseuds/tsukkisaur) for being the best editor in chief around! Comments and kudos always appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crawling out of the depths of hell to deliver chapter nine!

Late nights, countless more bonfires and cookouts, spontaneous adventures and Iwaizumi Hajime are what the rest of the summer consisted of for Oikawa Tooru.

They invited Yamaguchi and Yachi out a lot, to eat or just to join in any future potential water gun fights. Tendou and Ushijima came too, the two of them being the oddest couple Oikawa had probably ever seen. Tendou was mischievous, always smiling and playing around. Ushijima on the other hand was stoic and a man of few words, but when they were together, Ushijima would soften ever so slightly, a smile meant only for Tendou. Oikawa wondered if he looked like that when he looked at Iwaizumi.

Tsukishima and Kuroo were the two constants that never left. They hung out whenever they could, visiting Oikawa at work more nights than not. Sugawara came around more too, usually with a fat binder of notes from his summer class. Their weekly Sunday movie nights slowly went from the three of them to five.

The only times Oikawa was apart from Iwaizumi was when one of them worked or something was inevitable for them to do together. Oikawa had started to notice how lean Iwaizumi was growing over the summer and when he asked him about it, Iwaizumi only joked that Oikawa stole all his time and he couldn’t go to the gym nearly as often.

The leaves began to fall, the humid air grew cooler and the long nights stopped lasting as long. Oikawa would never miss a summer so much in his life.

The fall semester started in three days, which left Oikawa with exactly three days of stress free worry to enjoy with his boyfriend. All he wanted was to cuddle up and listen to him play piano or maybe watch a movie. So why was he hand in hand, walking down the street with his boyfriend instead?

“Remind me again _why_ we have to do this?”

“Because it’ll be fun!” Iwaizumi smiled. “And Kuroo already paid for it. You know how I hate to waste money.”

“But it’s not _your_ money,” Oikawa argued.

“Keep pouting like that and I won’t let you come over tonight.”

The brunette rolled his eyes, trying to hide his smirk. They’d been dating for awhile now and the conversation of the future came about a couple times. Oikawa hinted around about potentially moving in together, since they’re always at one of their apartments together. Iwaizumi didn’t seem to hate the idea, but he said his lease wasn’t up until December, but when Oikawa told him that his lease was up sooner, Iwaizumi stated that his apartment was too small for the both of them. Oikawa decided to call it quits after that.

Iwaizumi held the door, letting Oikawa walk in first. They walked into a longue type of building, small tables littering the floor and a couple booths lining one wall. A small stage was on the far wall, with three oversized love seats lined up next to each other.

Oikawa scanned the crowd, looking for a disinterested blonde and awful haired man. Instead he found the awful hair tucked under a baseball cap and a blonde, who looked more interested than not in being there. He grabbed Iwaizumi’s hand and lead him over to their friends.

_Their friends._

“Hey! It’s about time you guys got here!” Kuroo waved.

“I didn’t even wanna come,” Oikawa mumbled.

“Yeah well we couldn’t find the place at first.” Iwaizumi smiled, talking over Oikawa’s unenthusiastic self, as he sat next to Kuroo. “What’d we miss?”

“Just my hot ass boyfriend talking shit about how we’re going to win.” Kuroo grinned.

“Did he now?”

Tsukishima’s small smile melted into his normal annoyed look. “No I didn’t. I don’t even wanna be here.”

“Liar,” Oikawa murmured.

“What’d you say, Tooru?” Tsukishima leaned in.

Oikawa huffed, leaning on both his arms. “Why the fuck are we even here?”

Kuroo went to interject, when a booming voice silenced the room. Standing on the small stage was a broad shouldered man. “Welcome everyone! Tonight we have three lucky couples here to try and win a prize!” The crowd applauded after him. “Now, can I have up on stage: Kuroo Tetsurou and Tsukishima Kei, Iwaizumi Hajime and Oikawa Tooru, and last but not least, Abe Takaya and Mihashi Ren!”

As the crowd cheered the three couples walking up to the stage, Oikawa was dragged along by Iwaizumi. He plopped his pouting boyfriend down and wrapped his arm around him as Kuroo and Tsukishima followed suit.

“Is this like a gays only thing?” Oikawa asked.

“Yeah, didn’t Kuroo tell you anything? This is actually a gay bar.” Iwaizumi whispered back into his ear.

The lack of women and abundance of good looking men in the crowd should’ve been his first clue but the fact that he didn’t want to be there at all made his perceptive skills a little lackluster.

“Alright gentlemen! This is how the game will be played!” The announcer handed out overly large index cards to each couple. “One of you will leave the stage while your partner answers some questions about you. When you come back, you’ll answer the same question and see how well your partner knows you!”

“So basically the Newlywed Game?” Tsukishima questioned.

“Exactly, my fine man!” The announcer held the syllables out in the word ‘fine’. “But they refuse to have any gay boys, so we made our own game! Now, pick which of you will answer and which of you will leave.”

“Really? The Newlywed Game?”

“Cmon, Oikawa. Let’s show them who’s the best couple.” Iwaizumi kissed his cheek. “I’ll leave first.” Iwaizumi winked back as he, Kuroo and one of the guys from the third couple left.

“Alright! I’m your host, Alex! On stage we have Oikawa, Tsukishima and Mihashi. Are you guys ready for some questions?”

Oikawa would rather be laying under the sky, thinking about how much nicer it’d be to star gaze than answer some questions about his overly attractive boyfriend.

“Question one! Does your partner enjoy having their balls played with?”

_What the actual fuck._

Looking down at his empty note card, Oikawa had zero clue as to what to even guess was the right answer for Iwaizumi. They hadn’t had sex yet (yes, surprisingly enough) but what kind of fucking question is that? Oikawa took a safe bet and scribbled down the word ‘no’.

“Next question! If your partner had to have sex with a woman, who would it be?”

Well the only famous person they’d talked about was Mozart and he was a dude. Also, very dead. Who’s a hot celebrity? Have they even talked about famous people? Oikawa grumbled, jotting down ‘Beyonce’, because honestly, who doesn’t want a piece of that.

“Final question! If you wanted to seduce your partner, how would you do it?”

Okay, now this is one that Oikawa could think of a good answer for.

_Get naked and climb on his piano._

“Alright fellas! Let’s bring in your men!” Alex gestured for someone to get the three missing guys. Once they came back in and settled next to their partners, Alex continued. “Okay! So your partners answered three questions about you. Let’s see if they got any right. First question was, do you like having your balls played with?”

Iwaizumi actually choked on air, while Kuroo laughed like a hyena right next to them.

“Kuroo, what’s your answer?”

“Who doesn’t like it? Hell yeah. Tsukki knows just the right way too.” Kuroo winked.

Tsukishima held up his card, which read yes on it.

Alex turned towards Oikawa and Iwaizumi. “Iwaizumi?”

“Uhh, no?” Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa, who held up his card that read no.

Oikawa tuned out the last couple because honestly, he didn’t care about them or this game. Who needs to know if his boyfriend likes his balls being fondled anyways?

“Alright! The next question was, if your partner had to have sex with a woman, who would it be?” Alex gestures towards Iwaizumi first this time. “Iwaizumi?”

Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa, as if to say ‘sorry for getting us involved in this’ and turned back to Alex. “Uh, Lindsay Lohan. Probably.”

Lifting his card that read Beyonce, Oikawa looked at his boyfriend, scrunching his features. “First of all, ew. Second of all, it’s Beyonce.”

“To be fair, I meant before all the drugs, but Beyonce is pretty hot.” Iwaizumi answered, as Alex walked over, asking Kuroo who he’d like to fuck. Kuroo answered Jennifer Aniston, but Tsukishima’s card read Britney Spears.

“Dude, I’m not into bald chicks,” Kuroo argued because now they were losing to Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

Tsukishima just shrugged, tossing him an annoyed side eye. “I obviously didn’t mean when she was bald, idiot.”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi listened to the tow bicker while Alex asked the last couple for their answer and then asked them the final question first. After they got it wrong, ending their round at one for three, he moved over to Kuroo and Tsukishima again.

“Alright Kuroo, if your partner wanted to seduce you, how would he do it?”

Kuroo placed his thumb and pointer finger on his chin, humming deeply, showing how hard he was concentrating on his answer. “Mm, the best way would probably be to have Tsukki act like Jack from the Titanic and make me say _paint me like one of your french girls, Jack.”_

Oikawa physically cringed at that sight and regretted listening, because that image will never leave his brain. He knew his friends were weird when they were alone, but apparently Kuroo didn’t mind sharing their weird bedroom fantasies with the whole crowd. They seemed to like it though, as some of them laughed while a couple others hooted and hollered.

Alex pointed to Tsukishima, gesturing for him to show his card. Low and behold, the fucking card read exactly what Kuroo said word for word.

 _There was no couple that was better fit than these two idiots,_ Oikawa thought to himself.

“Alright folks! If Iwaizumi gets this question right, than he and Oikawa tie with Kuroo and Tsukishima this round!” Alex yelled out to the audience before honing in on Iwaizumi. “So Iwaizumi, how would your man over here get you in the mood?” He wiggled his eyebrows as he asked the question.

If Oikawa didn’t know any better, he’d think this dude was trying a little too hard to talk to _his_ boyfriend.

Scrunching his features, Iwaizumi sat silently for a minute before making an ‘oh’ sound. “He’d probably get all sexy on my piano,” he answered, looking over at Oikawa for approval.

Lifting his card, Oikawa smiled from ear to ear, showing that Iwaizumi answered the right way.

“And our first round ends in a tie, folks!”

Kuroo and Tsukishima glared over at them but Oikawa ignored them, kissing Iwaizumi’s cheek.

“Great answers, Iwa-chan! I guess we know each other better than we thought!”

“I was gonna say that you’d do some shit with aliens or something, but that would be weird and I’m glad you didn’t say that,” Iwaizumi smiled. “But I’d really like to see you on my piano sometime,” he winked.

Oikawa thought this would be dumb and a waste of time, but he was beginning to enjoy himself. Alex called for the other partners to leave the stage and Oikawa kissed Iwaizumi’s cheek again before getting up to leave. “Let’s win this thing.”

“There’s that competitive side of you,” Iwaizumi smirked.

 

* * *

 

“Fuck you guys. That’s actual bullshit,” Kuroo whined for the third time. “That game was rigged.”

“Awe c’mon Kuroo. Pull that stick outta your ass.”

“Shut up, _Iwaizumi._ We should’ve won and you know that.”

Oikawa walked happily next to Iwaizumi as he listened to him and Kuroo argue about their victory. They were tied the entire time, until the last question.

The question was, what’s the worst date your partner’s ever been on?

Kuroo answered that it was with some weird guy, Tsukishima’s freshman year before they met. However, Tsukishima named one of his and Kuroo’s first dates. Kuroo didn’t find it very funny, but Oikawa and Iwaizumi did and they don’t ever plan on letting Kuroo live it down.

Iwaizumi answered that Oikawa’s date consisted of burnt food, a guy with sweaty armpits and running from the police after his date shoplifted something for him because he thought it’d be cute.

Iwaizumi was exactly right, which was why they won the contest. Their prizes were a ribbon and the biggest box of condoms Oikawa had ever seen.

“Do you wanna share some of the condoms that _we_ won?” Iwaizumi asked, chastising Kuroo and loving every second of it.

“I don’t need your stupid, dirty condoms. Tsukki and I would rather raw dog it than use your shit.”

“The fuck you will,” Tsukishima interrupted. “I don’t want your diseases.”

“ _My diseases?!”_ Kuroo yelled. “Those are _all_ swimmin’ in your mouth already.”

“Tetsu!” Tsukishima yelped, pushing him away. Kuroo started laughing and even though Tsukishima tried to act extra pissed, his face was betraying him as his lips upturned ever so slightly.

Iwaizumi squeezed Oikawa’s fingers tighter, smiling at Kuroo and Tsukishima. They came to where they had to part ways, Oikawa crashing at Iwaizumi’s and Kuroo and Tsukishima going back to their shared apartment.

“We’ll see you Sunday?”

“Only if you buy the ice cream this time,” Kuroo smirked.

“Sorry dude, but loser’s gotta buy the ice cream,” Iwaizumi smiled, patting Kuroo on the back.

“Fine,” Kuroo huffed, “but I get to pick the movie.”

“Definitely not.” Tsukishima and Iwaizumi retorted in unison.

“It’s Sugawara’s turn to pick anyways,” Tsukishima continued. “I’m tired of watching The Incredibles,” he sighed.

Oikawa and Kuroo gasped, acting wounded. “How could you say that Tsukki?” Kuroo asked, turning towards Oikawa. “How could we ever love such a monster, Tooru?”

“It hurts…” Oikawa mumbled, pulling away from Iwaizumi, while Kuroo pulled away from Tsukishima. They hugged each other, rambling on together about how they couldn’t believe they surround themselves with such negativity.

“I’m going home. Bye, Iwaizumi,” Tsukishima waved as he left Kuroo behind. When Kuroo saw that Tsukishima was serious about leaving, he pulled apart from Oikawa, saying his goodbyes before chasing after his boyfriend.

“He is so whipped.” Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa’s hand again, leading them towards his apartment.

“Like you have any room to talk,” Oikawa answered, smugly smiled when Iwaizumi side eyed him. He shrugged when he kept glaring at him. “I’m just saying~”

Iwaizumi smiled, as they fell into comfortable silence walking back to the apartment.

Moments like these are what Oikawa enjoyed most with Iwaizumi. They didn’t have to talk much, just enjoying each others presence.

Looking up into the night sky, Oikawa remembered their observatory date. It was the best and really the only date he’d ever planned out. It was simple and yet, they learned so much about each other under a beautiful night sky, with alcohol warming their bodies. Iwaizumi deserved the best of the best, and Oikawa wanted to give him all of that and more.

“Hey, space camp.”

“Hey, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi smiled. “Tell me some more space facts.”

Oikawa will never get over how much he loves his boyfriend's interest in outer space. He thought he was just being nice at first, but he genuinely enjoys listening to Oikawa ramble on and on about what he loves.

“Okay, did you know that the planets are named after the Roman gods?”

Iwaizumi nodded. “Yeah, but what’s wrong with the Greek gods? They’re cooler, in my opinion.”

“I think so too,” Oikawa agreed, “but we didn’t get to name our planets. Anyways, do you know how they picked each of their names?”

“I can’t say that I do.” Iwaizumi ran his thumb along Oikawa’s hand, just the way the brunette loved.

“Well, the planets all have attributes like the gods. So Mercury is the messenger god, the fastest one. We hardly ever see Mercury, so that’s why it got that name. Jupiter is the Roman form of Zeus and I think that explains itself. Pluto is the god of death and its the farthest because they wanted death as far away as possible.

“I’m not really sure why or how they picked the other names. Venus is the goddess of love and the planet’s just green. Doesn’t really make me think of love. Mars is the god of war. Saturn is the god of like agriculture and shit. Neptune is Neptune because it’s blue like water.”

“Mm,” Iwaizumi hummed. “Some of those make so much sense and others are just like, they’re pulling names out of their asses.”

“Aren’t all words like that though?” Oikawa questioned.

The pianist shrugged. “I guess. I wonder who was on the council for naming things. I wish I could’ve been in charge.”

“Oh yeah?” Oikawa laughed. “What names would you change than?”

Tilting his head towards his boyfriend, Iwaizumi smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “Welcome to the naming party for anything and everything. My name’s Iwaizumi Hajime and I’m in charge of this-” he spread his arms out, acting as if he was talking in front of a group of people “-and I’m calling this a circle party.”

“A circle party?”

“I was gonna say circle jerk, but I didn’t think it fit,” Iwaizumi smiled as Oikawa started cracking up. “Anyways! We’re gonna call these things we’re sitting on ‘poptarts.’”

“Okay, now you’re just being ridiculous.”

“Excuse you, but _I’m_ the one naming things, so please be quiet in the circle jerk.”

Oikawa listened to Iwaizumi as he renamed anything and everything he wanted to, laughing at ridiculous names and his acting skills in front of his imaginary _circle jerk_ of people. They spent the rest of their walk home like that, up until they made their way into Iwaizumi’s apartment.

They changed into some comfortable clothes, Oikawa finding his spot on the couch, leaning over the back, waiting for Iwaizumi to come out.

“Hey, Iwa-chan~”

Iwaizumi stuck his head out of the doorway, peering over to Oikawa with a raised eyebrow.

“Will you play some music before we go to bed?”

“If I do that, you’ll fall asleep on the couch.” The pianist responded, walking out of the room in loose pants and an even looser t-shirt.

“Than you can just carry me to bed.” When he didn’t get an approving look back, he added, “I promise I won’t fall asleep! Just play for a lil?”

When Oikawa batted his eyelashes like that, Iwaizumi lost most, if not all of his will power. “Fine. I’ll play one song.”

Cheering, Oikawa readjusted on the couch. “Have you finished your piece yet?”

“No, not yet. But I think I’m getting kinda close.” Iwaizumi lifted the lid, smoothing his fingers over the keys. “I’ll play you Moonlight Sonata, first movement.”

As fingers began to dance on keys, Oikawa’s body instantly relaxed. It didn’t matter how good the pianist was, if it wasn’t Iwaizumi Hajime, it wasn’t good enough. Didn’t have the same effect on his body that Iwaizumi did. It was mesmerizing and enchanting. Oikawa loved almost nothing more.

_Almost._

The music had a dark, deeper sound to it than most, but it was light and beautiful. The sounds blending together like water. There was no other way to describe it than amazing, even that word didn’t do it justice.

The more he listened, the heavier his eyes became. He tried to keep them open though, trying to watch Iwaizumi dance along with the music he was creating. It was when Iwaizumi looked happiest and most at ease. He was genuinely happy and Oikawa loved seeing him that way.

Note after note, Oikawa listened more intently. Listening to the depth of each key being played. Listening to how hard or soft the keys were being played. Listening to what Iwaizumi was creating.

In what felt like too short a time, Iwaizumi was done, closing the case over the keys.

“Iwa-chan,” he whined. “One more song.”

Smiling, Iwaizumi walked over, grabbing Oikawa’s hand and pulling him up off the couch. “Maybe tomorrow, but it’s time for bed.”

Oikawa sadly and reluctantly let his boyfriend lead him to the bedroom. Snuggling under the covers, he waited for Iwaizumi to join him so he could cuddle up next to him.

Chest to chest, their bodies flushed against each others perfectly. Iwaizumi ran his fingers through Oikawa’s hair and Oikawa ran his fingers along Iwaizumi’s back.

Silently, warm and peacefully, they drifted off to sleep to the sound of each others heartbeat.

 

* * *

 

“Whaddya mean they’re out of Extreme Chocolate Chip?!”

_“I mean they’re out of it. What do you want instead?”_

“Death. I just wanna die,” Oikawa murmured, walking up the stairs to Iwaizumi’s apartment.

_“Can you stop being dramatic for once, or I won’t get this fucking ice cream at all.”_

Tsukishima ended up on ice cream duty for their weekly Sunday movie night and wasn’t very pleased about it. Grocery shopping was his least favorite thing to do because it involved more of the general public than he’d like to interact with.

“Alright, relax. I’ll take chocolate peanut butter instead.”

There was a pause on the other line, while Oikawa heard the blonde dig through some freezer, looking for the flavor in question. _“Got it. Is Iwaizumi still cool with cookie dough?”_

“I’m about to open his door, so gimme one sec and I’ll ask.” Oikawa squeezed his phone between his cheek and shoulder as he dug out the key to unlock the door. Even though Iwaizumi shut down his idea of moving in, he still got a key to his apartment. Whether it was to wipe the sad look off of his face or just because Iwaizumi was tired of answering the door all the time for Oikawa, he didn’t know. Oikawa would like to think it’s because he doesn’t know how to vocalize that he enjoys his company and wants the brunette over all the time.

“Hey Iwa-chan, are you still okay with-”

Instead of opening the door to seeing Iwaizumi either on the couch playing video games or in front of his piano, he was at his dining room table, ankle wrapped up and crutches resting next to him.

“Iwa-chan! What happened!?” Oikawa rushed in, forgetting his question about their dessert entirely.

Iwaizumi raised his hands, palms towards Oikawa in a gesture to calm down. “Relax, relax. It’s nothing major. I just twisted it at work today is all.”

Oikawa ignored Iwaizumi’s nonchalant explanation, crouching down to examining the injury for himself. His right ankle was wrapped in a blue cloth like bandage, holding his foot stiff in a straight position. When he went to touch it, Iwaizumi didn’t flinch or make any inclining of pain, which was a good sign.

Straightening up, Oikawa took a deep breath, realizing the injury wasn’t as bad as he intentionally thought. “So, what did you do?” he asked, in the best ‘mom-tone’ he could muster.

“I was moving a pallet of planters from the truck into the store. My foot got caught when I was coming down the ramp and bam. Crippled Iwaizumi.”

“Don’t say it like that.” Oikawa smiled, if only a little. “You really are the clumsiest person I know.”

“Hey, you’re pretty clumsy too.”

“Oh yeah? Gimme one example.”

Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa for a minute, before admitting defeat, mumbling, “Whatever.”

“Well, since you lied, you owe me one song.”

Instead of a small smile and trying to act as if he really didn’t want to, Iwaizumi casted his gaze to the floor, playing with his fingers. “I’m not really in the mood right now.”

Oikawa wasn’t known for being over dramatic or easily consumed by worry and concern, but the way Iwaizumi was acting today, within the five minutes since Oikawa had come into the apartment, Iwaizumi was really worrying him. Something in the back of his mind was tugging at him, yelling something that he couldn’t comprehend. Almost as if it were telling him that he needed to open his eyes, telling him to stop being so dense, if only for a moment.

But since he couldn’t make out what was bothering him so much, he defaulted to the guy that never wanted to be overcompensating and annoying. The guy that didn’t want to do anything that would cause Iwaizumi to distance himself from him. So he pushed his concerns back to the part of his mind that was screaming out to him, as if underwater, and put an easy smile on his face instead.

“Well Iwa-chan, I hope you’re okay with cookie dough because that’s what Tsukki-kun bought you.”

“Yeah, you know I love any kinda ice cream,” Iwaizumi smiled, returning his gaze back to Oikawa.

The fall semester started out just as any other semester. There were some annoying people in his classes, some not so annoying. Tendou happened to end up in two of his classes, which was something Oikawa was actually excited about.

The only thing he didn’t like about the new semester was the lack of Iwaizumi. Between classes, work, projects, homework and Iwaizumi’s own work, they didn’t get to see each other nearly as much as they did during the summer. Now to top it off, Iwaizumi hurt himself at work and didn’t even tell Oikawa. Just let him find out by coming to pick him up.

“I’ll call us a taxi,” Oikawa pulled out his phone, typing in some numbers.

“No, that’s okay! Don’t waste the money. I can walk.”

Oikawa turned around, not a hint of amusement on his face. “You’re on crutches, Iwa-chan.”

As if to prove his point, Iwaizumi grabbed his crutches, pulling himself up on his one foot, supporting himself with his arms. “See? And it’s only a couple blocks. I’ll be fine.”

Grimacing, he slowly, reluctantly, put his phone back in his pocket. “Fine, but I won’t carry you if you get tired.” Oikawa wasn’t actually mad though, just really concerned. His father told him tough love was the best love, and if that’s true, then Iwaizumi needed all the tough love he could muster.

“Oh! Before I forget!” The pianist’s smile grew as he hobbled over to the couch, plopping down and opening his laptop. Oikawa followed him over, watching and waiting to see what had his boyfriend so excited.

“My favorite pianist is coming back in the winter! With a world class orchestra and famous conductor! We have to go!”

When Iwaizumi was excited like this, it reminded Oikawa of himself when anyone asked him _anything_ about astronomy. He loved it, and the fact that he could be apart of what made Iwaizumi so happy, made Oikawa love it even more.

“Yeah, let’s invite Tsukki-kun and Tetsu-kun too. I’m sure they’d like it too.”

Iwaizumi nodded, handing his laptop over to his brunette boyfriend so he could order the four tickets. Not that the darker haired male didn’t know how to, but he insisted he isn’t good with technology and from what Oikawa has seen, it wasn’t a lie.

Once the tickets were ordered, Oikawa helped Iwaizumi up and together they slowly walked over to Kuroo and Tsukishima’s place. Iwaizumi hobbling along while Oikawa talked about anything to ease their quiet walk.

When Oikawa opened the door, Sugawara was already there, modeling for Tsukishima while Kuroo pulled a pizza out of the oven.

“Hey guys-oh shit! What happened to you?” Kuroo almost dropped the pizza when he turned around and saw the man on crutches.

“Nothing major you guys. I just sprained it at work.” After he locked eyes with everyone, he added, “Don’t worry. Doc said I’d be walking again in a week or two, depending on my body and how I take care of it.”

Sugawara had a pained smile on his face, but when Oikawa blinked, he was back to normal, smiling and talking to Tsukishima while the blonde painted him.

_Did I just imagine that?_

Shaking his thoughts free, he helped Iwaizumi over to the couch, grabbing a pillow for him to rest his foot on. He tried to fight him, but with one threatening look from Oikawa, Iwaizumi thanked him for it and propped his foot up.

“Anyways guys, what’s up! I feel like we haven’t seen each other in forever!” Kuroo passed out slices of pizza to everyone. “Tsukki, stop working and eat!”

The blonde rolled his eyes, but listened to his boyfriend regardless, sitting on the floor around the coffee table with his pizza. “I just saw Tooru on Friday.”

“Okay, well I didn’t!” Kuroo remarked. “And that was two days ago! That’s basically forever!”

“Well, I already had a test in my microbiology class,” Sugawara said between bites.

“Seriously? Oh man, I don’t know how you’re surviving. Just having two classes and work actually murders me.”

“You’re so dramatic, Tetsurou.”

“Tsukki! Just love me.” Kuroo threw himself over the blonde, almost knocking his pizza out of his hands. Tsukishima would’ve actually murdered him if that happened.

“Well, since I don’t work it makes it easier. Just taking classes to be a doctor is a full-time job in itself,” Sugawara continued.

“Yeah _and_ you do it during the summer too! Don’t you ever wanna take a break?”

Sugawara shrugged. “I just want to get done with school as soon as possible.”

“What’s your rush, man?” Kuroo asked, shoving another piece of pizza in his mouth.

“What is this? Twenty questions?” Sugawara laughed. “I just don’t wanna be in school forever.”

Kuroo nodded, apparently pleased with the answers he got. “What about you?” Turning toward Iwaizumi. “Have you met the parents yet?”

Iwaizumi smiled, but it didn’t look like an embarrassed type of smile. Oikawa couldn’t put his finger on it, almost like he didn’t want to meet his parents. They’d went to his parents countless times over the summer, but since his parents travel so much, they’re hardly ever home. Oikawa didn’t want to push meeting his parents on him, so he hadn’t brought it up, but neither did Iwaizumi.

“Nah, not yet. You would’ve heard if I had anyway, right?”

Tsukishima answered before Kuroo got a chance to open his mouth. “He’s just trying to see if Tooru is keeping secrets from him or not. Ignore him, Iwaizumi.”

“That’s not true!” Kuroo protested.

“Are you telling me that my dear Tsukki-kun is a liar?” Oikawa raised an eyebrow.

Kuroo looked between the three, scrunching his features. “Hey now, don’t go ganging up on me. That’s not fair. It was just a question!” Trying to change the subject, he grinned, asking another question. “Speaking of questions, Iwaizumi, did Tooru ever tell you that we had a threesome?”

Iwaizumi coughed, a look between jealousy and bewilderment crossing his face. “For real?”

“No,” Tsukishima deadpanned.

“Only cause you don’t appreciate me,” Oikawa pouted.

“And you’re _actually_ upset you couldn’t have a threesome with your two best friends?” Sugawara asked.

Oikawa shrugged. “I mean, they _are_ hot and we gotta learn _somehow_ who’s better at sucking dick.”

Iwaizumi and Sugawara laughed and spoke in unison. “You guys are the weirdest people I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you,” they all answered together, smiling at each other wickedly.

Once the pizza was gone, they dug their containers of ice cream out of the freezer and got comfortable on and around the couch. Sugawara got to pick the movie this time and he chose The Karate Kid with Jaden Smith, because who doesn’t love karate?

Two hours later, a finished movie and empty ice cream containers was when they decided to call it quits for the night. Sugawara and Iwaizumi were leaving together, Oikawa insisting that he’d stay and help clean up.

Oikawa kissed Iwaizumi goodbye and that feeling in his stomach was the same as when they first kissed, and the tiny shock of electricity when their lips connected was as powerful as ever. Oikawa would never get tired of it, such an amazing feeling he’d never been able to feel before.

“So,” Oikawa started once the two left, “we’re going to a concert this winter with Iwa-chan’s favorite pianist and orchestra and you guys are coming. We already bought the tickets.”

“That sounds fun. Count us in,” Tsukishima smiled, returning to his canvas. “Speaking of Iwaizumi though, aren’t you worried?”

Leave it to Tsukishima to read his mind, now and forever. “Yeah, but he said it wasn’t a big deal and I didn’t want to freak out over nothing.”

“You’re freaking out because you care, dollface,” Kuroo threw his arm around Oikawa’s shoulders, “Probably because you care _a lot~”_

“Of course I care! He’s my boyfriend.”

“Well yeah, but I’m trying to say that maybe you more than just like this guy.”

It wasn’t the first time Oikawa had thought about it, but it _was_ the first time that he’d heard it out loud, or that anyone had ever, in his life, assumed that he loved someone before (other than Kuroo and Tsukishima, but that was different).

“You’re just realizing that now, Tetsurou?” The genuine surprise in the blonde’s eyes showed just how noticable Oikawa’s stronger feelings had been to him. “I’m surprised you haven’t noticed before.”

“Oh yeah? When did you notice, Tsukki?”

“Mm, probably when he brought him over.”

Oikawa face grew hot. “Yeah, okay. Stop fucking around and tell us the truth.”

Tsukishima looked up at his two friends, expression never changing. “When have we ever met one of your boyfriends? When have you ever had a boyfriend in general, for more than five minutes? It’s been pretty obvious for awhile now.”

All of those were extremely good points Oikawa hadn’t thought of. He’d thought of the L word a couple times before, but that was when he was happy or just content in Iwaizumi’s presence. He’d never been in love before, didn’t even know how it felt or how to recognize the feeling.

“Hey, Tetsu-kun?”

“Mm?”

“Uh, well, how did you know when you were in love with Tsukki-kun?”

Kuroo pulled his eyes away from Oikawa, moving over to watch Tsukishima finish whatever he was painting. The look on his face softened every second. Kuroo only looked like that when he was staring at the blonde.

“Well,” Kuroo smiled, “Probably when I’d rather do nothing _with_ him, rather than do nothing alone. When I realized how much I thought about him, how much I wanted to hold his hand all the time and never let anyone take my place. He’s my person, ya know?”

_His person?_

If Oikawa’s and Kuroo’s standards for love are the same, than Oikawa’s been in love with Iwaizumi for longer than he can remember. When he first saw him up on that stage, playing piano for what felt like only him, he was enraptured, unable to pull himself away. He wanted any piece of him that he’d be willing to give him.

Iwaizumi has been Oikawa’s person ever since he first laid eyes on him.

Looking between his two best friends, he thought about the way he felt when Iwaizumi was around as opposed to when he wasn’t around. The feelings were like night and day.

“Yeah,” he whispered, “I think I know what you mean.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you pick up on Mihashi and Abe playing the Newlywed game with our boys? Yeah, well I love my Nishiura boys and I couldn't help it. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! Your comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took me forever.

“Biggest planet?”

“Jupiter.”

“Mm,” Iwaizumi hummed, watching Oikawa physically start to relax. “Closest planet to the sun with a moon?”

“Earth. These aren’t even hard questions.” Oikawa chastised, a small smile growing on his face. 

Throughout the numerous months of dating, Iwaizumi learned that even though his boyfriend is an extremely smart man, he stresses  _ way  _ too much. Iwaizumi enjoyed watching Oikawa do his homework and even helped him study from time to time when he proved useful. 

One night, trying to crack a joke, Iwaizumi said something dealing with space. Oikawa didn’t find it funny, but the wrinkles in the middle of his forehead weren’t as prominent. So ever since then, when he judged that Oikawa was drowning in stress, he started asking questions about his favorite hobby.

“Well, I’m not as smart as you when it comes to planets, Space camp.”

Oikawa made a noise that sounded like a grunt. “I could just be lying. You wouldn’t even know.”

“Actually, I would. You’d never lie about shit like this.” When Oikawa didn’t answer, Iwaizumi continued. “C’mon, lighten up.”

“I can’t just  _ lighten up.  _ Midterms are literally so close.”

“Yeah, I know, but you’re the smartest person in all of your classes!”

Oikawa raised his eyes from his book, narrowing them at Iwaizumi. “Well I  _ won’t  _ be if I don’t study.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Oikawa watched Iwaizumi get up and stretch. His cast was long gone now, and along with it, a dark cloud that had seemed to be floating over him for far too long. Oikawa never commented on it, but he could tell there was something different with his boyfriend. 

Iwaizumi refused any help from Oikawa when it came to his inability to walk properly. The most he let the brunette do for him was get his ice cream on movie nights or let him open the door for him, saying that “chivalry isn't dead.”

Oikawa always had these thoughts on his mind, but seeing how much lighter, happier and full of life Iwaizumi seemed to be lately, he couldn’t bring himself to disrupt his happiness with countless questions. Just seeing his boyfriend happy was enough for him.

“Hey Oikawa?” Iwaizumi turned, looking at Oikawa over his shoulder. The pianists bulk had gone down significantly since they’d met, but since he ditched the cast, his body slowly started to get some of that firmness back, and his skin began to hold that sun kissed color again.

“What?”

“How come you haven’t tried to fuck me yet?”

Speechless, Oikawa ripped his eyes away from his books, mouth agape, eyes wide, staring straight at his partner. 

If he could see himself, he was sure he looked like a fish.

_ What the fuck…? _

Iwaizumi had a playful grin on his face, with a hint of mischief in his eye.

_ Damn did he look good. _

“Wha-what did you…? Where’s this even coming from?”

Iwaizumi shrugged, turning around, one arm behind his back. “I don’t know, I was just wondering, ‘cause we’ve been dating for what feels like forever-”

“It has  _ not  _ been forever-”

“And I was just starting to think that, maybe you thought I was ugly or something.”

“Get the fuck outta here!” Oikawa almost yelled. “You’re the one who said we should probably take it slow!”

“Well yeah, but Kuroo said-”

“Kuroo?! That’s it. Yours and Kuroo’s, whatever the fuck it is, is officially over.”

Laughing, Iwaizumi slowly shut Oikawa’s book. “Oh no. Kuroo and I are together forever now. If it’s anyone’s fault that this happened, it’s kinda yours.”

Iwaizumi wasn’t wrong, and Oikawa couldn’t be happier about how well they got along, but now he was starting to think that they got along  _ too  _ well.

Oikawa wanted to protest about the florist taking his books away, but he kept quiet, opting to ask, “What did Kuroo say?”

“Oh, so now you wanna know?” Iwaizumi smirked. 

“Just tell me, Iwa-chan~”

“I don’t know~” Iwaizumi half sang. “You just told me to break up with him.”

“Oh, so now you’re dating?” Oikawa turned in his chair, “who’s the cheater now?”

The air was light with the banter between the two. Oikawa couldn’t help but admire the man he thoroughly enjoyed, walk away from him, over to the couch. 

Thinking back on when he’d met Iwaizumi, he’d been so angry with the fact that he couldn’t bag this guy. Oikawa had never had problems when it came to getting what he wanted (which was probably why his head grew a little bigger than he’d like to admit; so he refused to admit it, at least out loud).

Somehow, being the most frustrated he’d ever been, led Oikawa to being happier than he ever thought he could possibly be.

“C’mon, let’s play some Mario Kart,” Iwaizumi called over, turning the Gamecube on and settling on the couch with his electric green controller.

“No Mario Party today?” Oikawa asked, not so reluctantly forgetting about studying for the time being to play with his boyfriend.

_ Boyfriend. _

Oikawa will never get tired of that.

Handing Oikawa his deep blue controller as he sat next to him, Iwaizumi shook his head. “Naw, I’m in a racing type of mood.”

Oikawa didn’t want to sound crazy, but ever since he talked to Kuroo, asking him how he knew he loved Tsukishima, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

They’d been together for almost a year now (well Oikawa had been super into Iwaizumi for about a year, and who cares about small details like that) and Oikawa couldn’t think of anything but Iwaizumi.

He worried about him when he wasn’t around, wondered what he was doing, thought about what he could do to surprise him; whether that be dinner or a spontaneous trip to a winery or anything fun.

Oikawa’s life had been taken over by Iwaizumi Hajime. The faint smell of flowers always lingering on him, the piercing emerald eyes that seemed to look directly through him, the soft demeanor he had when no one was around and the way he could control a room with the movement of only his fingers.

Some people say they weren’t whole until they found their significant other, but the brunette dares to disagree. He was a whole person, his own entity before the pianist. But now that he had him in his life, Oikawa was so much  _ more  _ than he used to be.

He reached out more. Once a man who only needed two people in his life to survive, now he found himself purposely reaching out to Yamaguchi, Yachi and Tendou. He might not  _ need  _ them, but he found out that he sure as hell  _ wanted  _ them around. 

Iwaizumi had this aura about him that infected Oikawa, and he slowly grew addicted to it. 

_ “Probably when I’d rather do nothing with him, rather than do nothing alone. When I realized how much I thought about him, how much I wanted to hold his hand all the time and never let anyone take my place. He’s my person, ya know?” _

Kuroo’s words played over and over in Oikawa’s head like a broken record.

_ His person. _

Oikawa felt hot, his pulse beating in his ears. Iwaizumi was his person. Iwaizumi was the one that he wanted to do nothing and everything with. Iwaizumi was the one he wanted to curl up with in bed, with the smell of flowers in the air, late at night.

Iwaizumi was  _ it. _

Iwaizumi was Oikawa’s.

Oikawa was Iwaizumi’s.

Iwaizumi was his person.

Iwaizumi was the  _ one. _

The only thing left to do was tell him. But what if he’d be creeped out? What if it was too soon? What if he didn’t feel the same?

No, no, Oikawa was confident in this. Confident in them and their relationship. Even if Iwaizumi didn’t feel the same way, he’d accept Oikawa’s feelings.

He should probably be scared, terrified. But the only thing he could think of was how much he wanted to tell this man how he felt.

“Earth to Space camp! You gonna play with me or what?” Iwaizumi jolted Oikawa out of his deep, heart throbbing thoughts.

His eyes were focused on Oikawa, a questioning hint to them. That only made Oikawa’s face heat up more. He darted his eyes around; to the screen, piano, the windows, the kitchen, the screen again and finally back to that heavy gaze.

“Uhhm Iwa-chan—” Oikawa tried to swallow and it  _ burned _ , but he tried to breathe past the lump—“You’re my person,” he whispered, but as he said those words, the lump went with it, so he tried again, louder, more sure of himself. “You’re my person!”

Iwaizumi’s face was blank, the curiosity in his eyes shining brighter than before. A gust of wind blew through the open windows, hitting Oikawa’s face with what felt like ice and the heavy scent of flowers.

Oikawa held his breath as he watched Iwaizumi turn his head towards the TV, a look of understanding washing over him. He looked back at Oikawa with a wide, toothy grin. “I can change characters if you want. I didn’t realize you always used Luigi.”

Still holding his breath, Oikawa followed Iwaizumi’s gaze towards the television. On the screen he watched as the pianist switched characters from Luigi to Diddy Kong. Letting the oxygen leave his lungs, Oikawa bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.

_ What a  _ fucking  _ idiot. _

Oikawa wasn’t sure if he meant himself or Iwaizumi. Either way, this was what he got for taking advice from that dumbass, hopeless romantic Kuroo.

What would he even know in the first place? It still amazed Oikawa to this day that Tsukishima and him were together.

“That’s not what I meant…” Oikawa sighed quietly, turning back to the TV and selecting Luigi as his character.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, it’s Kuroo! The one and—”

Oikawa groaned, dialing Tsukishima’s number for the hundredth time, since Kuroo also didn’t know how to answer his one hundred phone calls from Oikawa.

Calling them was honestly kind of pointless, because he was stomping his salty ass to their apartment while he called. 

He just couldn’t help it though. He  _ needed  _ to talk to them as soon as possible. Whether to scream, cry or just sit in silence with their company; he wasn’t entirely sure yet, but he’d figure it out once he got there.

Finally making it up the stairs to their apartment (honestly why were there so many stairs? Didn’t they realize he was in a hurry?) he dug in his pocket for the key, and without missing a beat, swung the door open.

“Tetsu, where the fuck are my glasses?”

“If you wore your contacts, this wouldn’t happen!” Kuroo answered, with his ass up in the air, the rest of him hidden under the couch.

“More like if you didn’t throw my glasses off my face everytime you wanted to make out-”

“They get in the way! And you always complain about how I smudge them up!”

Tsukishima was down the hall—probably contemplating jumping out the nearest window—when he grunted, apparently done with his life and not being able to see.

Oikawa wasn’t in the mood for this, so he kicked his shoes off, walking over to take a seat on Kuroo’s ass.

“Oooh, babe. Ready for round two?” Kuroo wiggled his ass (Oikawa’s new seat).

Squaring his shoulders, he wound up his arm as high as it’d go and smacked Kuroo’s ass hard enough to leave a mark for two days.

“What the  _ fuck?!”  _ Kuroo bellowed, throwing Oikawa off of him, coming out from under the couch. When he saw the brunette, his face melted into a mixture of surprise and anger. “What the  _ actual  _ fuck?!”

“I know you like it rough,” Oikawa shrugged, picking himself off the floor. “Just thought I’d help you out.”

“If you’re gonna be a dick, could you atleast help find Tsukki’s glasses while you’re at it?” 

“Is that Tooru?” Tsukishima called.

“No, it’s someone who you refuse to answer the phone for when they’re suffering,” the brunette whined, throwing himself over the back of the couch, looking down the hall.

Gracefully fumbling towards the living room, Tsukishima looked around with squinted eyes. “As you can tell, I can’t  _ fucking  _ see. So how the fuck would I answer your call?”

“Do you even care about me?”

“Tooru, help us find these damn eye helpers and then we’ll talk.”

“Really, Tetsu-kun,  _ eye helpers?”  _ Oikawa scoffed, slowly sliding off the couch.

“If one of you doesn’t find my glasses, I swear to fucking fuck I’ll end both of your lives.”

Fear filling both Oikawa and Kuroo’s eyes, they both silently agreed.

Oikawa had a hunch where the glasses were already, he was just too immensely wounded to care. He figured they’d be in the same exact spot they always were when Kuroo flung them off of Tsukishima’s face.

This same fiasco had happened about four times since they’d moved into this apartment together. Tsukishima would be cooking dinner for them in the kitchen, Kuroo would spot him, telling his boyfriend how ‘spicy, dicey and delicious’ he looked (he seriously said those exact words, Oikawa had been there one too many times to hear it) and start attacking his face.

All four times this had happened, Tsukishima’s food always ended up cold (which would mean they were ordering pizza later) and his glasses were always _ , always,  _ in the sink.

How Kuroo managed to do that—and how these two haven’t connected those dots yet—blew Oikawa’s mind.

Sighing, he walked into the kitchen, seeing the now cold dinner, and (drum roll please) Tsukishima Kei’s  _ eye helpers. _

“Found them~” Oikawa half sung, walking out of the kitchen to give them to the blonde. “And they were exactly where they  _ always  _ are.”

“They are not always there!” Kuroo argued, watching Tsukishima’s glare come back into focus at him. “I mean, I already checked the sink anyways…”

“Why the hell would they be in the bathroom sink, Tetsu?”

Oikawa laughed at Kuroo’s loss of words. He honestly was the dumbest smart person he knew.

“Whatever…” Kuroo mumbled, shuffling over to the couch in defeat. Redirecting his attention back to Oikawa, he asked, “so why’re you suffering?”

Moving back over to the couch with Tsukishima in tow, he threw himself down, laying his face in Kuroo’s lap. “I tol Iwah-an hat I muve him ahn he dn’t relze.”

“You told Iwaizumi that you loved him and he didn’t realize?” Tsukishima echoed—sitting on the other side of Oikawa—in a much clearer form.

He nodded viciously into Kuroo’s lap.

“Well,” the blonde continued, “how exactly did you tell him, for him to not understand?”

Moving his face to the side, Oikawa retorted, “I just did what Tetsu-kun told me to do.”

“You took dating advice from Tetsu?”

“Hey!” Kuroo chirped, “I never gave you dating advice. But if I  _ did,  _ you’d be balls deep instead of crying on the couch.”

Rolling his eyes, Oikawa sat up, shooting Kuroo a venomous look. “I asked you when you knew you loved Tsukki-kun and you said a bunch of sappy shit and then said he’s your person.”

“It wasn’t sappy—”

“So I’d been thinking about it for awhile and I realized Iwa-chan is  _ my  _ person. So I wanted to tell him.”

“I can’t believe you took dating advice from Tetsu,” Tsukishima said, looking surprised? Or maybe insulted? “You would’ve been better off asking me.”

“ _ Anyways,”  _ Oikawa spat, “We were playing Mario Kart and I told him and-”

“Wait a second,” Tsukishima interrupted, “how did you say it?”

Both their eyes were on him, as he began fidgeting with his fingers. “Well, I, uh, told him he was my person. And he thought I meant the character in the game and I didn’t have the balls to admit to him that it wasn’t what I meant and now here I am.”

They sat in silence for a minute, processing what Oikawa had said. Until Kuroo bursted out laughing. “You told him he was your person? Hah, what kinda shit is that?”

“I asked you how you knew with Tsukki-kun and I just went with it!”

Kuroo tried to respond in between laughs. “Yeah, but—hah—I didn’t tell him—ah—that he was my person!” 

The red that grew on Oikawa’s face rivaled a stop sign. “Well how did you do it?!”

Tsukishima sighed, answering for his boyfriend since he wouldn’t be talking coherently anytime soon. “Basically, he laid naked in bed and wrote it out in ripped up toilet paper that he scattered all over the floor.”

Now Oikawa couldn’t keep his shit together, laughing so hard that no noise came out.

“Only ‘cause I didn’t have time to get any strawberries!”

Tsukishima’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “Why would you get strawberries?”

“Because I love you and I know how much you love strawberries!” Kuroo declared, putting both hands over his heart as if he were in a play. “But you were gonna be home soon and I needed to make myself look  _ extra _ good,” he winked. 

“You looked exactly the same as you always do,” Tsukishima deadpanned, throwing his legs over Oikawa and grabbing the remote. 

Maybe if Oikawa was a huge idiot like Kuroo, he wouldn’t have had a problem professing his obnoxious amount of love for Iwaizumi. 

Sadly (but probably for the best) he wasn’t an idiot.

Or Kuroo Tetsurou.

Watching Tsukishima flip through channels, Oikawa tried to relax into the couch. “I think you guys are missing the point here,” he said, as both heads turned back towards him. “What the fuck am I gonna do about this?”

“Well, since you asked your favorite friend how to go about this in the first place, maybe you should ask him how to get out of it,” Tsukishima glared.

So that surprise that Oikawa sensed wasn’t surprise or annoyance at all. It was _ jealousy. _

“Are you actually jealous right now?”

Oh man, if looks could kill, Tsukishima would be a serial killer. “I’m not jealous. I’m just saying, you let him get you into this mess. This absolutely wouldn’t have happened if you just asked me.”

Oikawa and Kuroo looked at each other, an identical smile growing ever larger on their faces.

“Tsukki, are you jealous of me and Tooru?” Kuroo asked in that obnoxious tone that told Tsukishima it wasn’t much of a question, but rather the beginnings of some form of taunt.

“I think our burning passion makes him feel some type of way,” Oikawa continued, leaning onto Kuroo and twisting his legs into Tsukishima’s. 

The embarrassment Oikawa felt from his own failures with Iwaizumi earlier slowly melted into the back of his mind, if only for a minute. 

Tsukishima rolled his eyes so far in the back of his head, he could probably see his brain. “You guys aren’t gonna stop until I give some  _ actual  _ advice huh?”

Devilish smiles and Kuroo’s arm falling around Oikawa’s shoulders was the only answer the two offered.

Sighing, Tsukishima ditched the remote back on the table, re-adjusting his long, model-like legs in Oikawa’s. “Just tell him again. But  _ actually  _ tell him. None of this—whatever you’re trying right now—bullshit.”

“But how~” Oikawa whined. “I kinda freaked when I tried to tell him earlier.”

“Do you want him to know how you feel?” Tsukishima asked.

There was nothing Oikawa wanted more. The way he felt in Iwaizumi’s apartment when he knew that he had to tell the pianist—whether he felt the same way or not—was overwhelming. Iwaizumi had become a part of Oikawa, the best parts of him at that.

Oikawa nodded.

“Then just tell him,” the blonde instructed. “Tell him up-front, so there’s no possible way that he could misinterpret anything again.”

“Is that how you told Tetsu-kun?”

Kuroo laughed in Oikawa’s ear. “I guess you could say that. When he saw my amazing display of love and affection, all he said was ‘I can’t believe I’m in love with an idiot like you.’”

“Guess you can’t get more straightforward than that, huh?” Oikawa smiled, wiggling his toes against the blondes legs, making him smile, if only a little. “Thanks guys. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Tsukishima moved his feet against Oikawa’s legs, letting him know that he was an idiot, but one that he loved.

“Would you like an alphabetical list or a chronological one?” Kuroo asked, ruffling the brunettes hair. “But if you want, I can help you setup the perfect ‘I love you’ message at his place with you. And don’t worry”—Kuroo waved his hand—“we won’t use toilet paper. I don’t want you to copy me.”

 

* * *

 

Opening the door to the flower shop, Oikawa was hit with a strong smell of lavender. 

The shop was decorated as brightly as always, different colors of the rainbow lining the door in that archway shape. 

Just like the first time he came here, Oikawa felt like he was walking down the aisle to Iwaizumi, who was waiting at the counter with a wide grin.

“Hey, Space camp.”

The way Iwaizumi looked when he was surrounded by flowers like that, always seemed to steal the oxygen away from Oikawa.

He loved it.

“Hey, Iwa-chan. Almost done?”

“Mm, just about,” Iwaizumi nodded.

“Not until you wait on me,” Oikawa smiled, leaning over the counter so close to Iwaizumi, he could almost kiss him. 

“How can I help you?”

Iwaizumi knew damn well that everytime Oikawa came to pick him up that the bartender was going to buy whatever flowers Iwaizumi recommended. He knew that, but he loved playing the part of some hot sales guy when Oikawa came in. 

He hadn’t always acted this way, but ever since he got rid of the crutches, Iwaizumi had come out of shell; just like how Oikawa came out of his.

“Mhmm, you know, I’m thinking of buying some tulips. Whaddya think?”

The florist put his hand up to his chin, as if in deep thought, then smiled. “Those are actually my favorite flowers. I highly recommend them.”

Oikawa smirked. “Perfect! I’ll take a half-dozen.”

“Great taste.” Iwaizumi said as he went to gather the bouquet. Oikawa watched as he cut the stems and rolled them in paper so delicately. 

It was enticing.

When he finished, he came back to the counter with six brightly colored, yellow tulips.

Reaching for his wallet, Oikawa asked, “How much do I owe you?”

“They’re on the house,” Iwaizumi winked. “For our most loyal customer.”

The bartender smiled as he was handed the flowers. They were beautiful, just like the man who prepared them.

Iwaizumi tossed the cut pieces of the stems in the garbage, looking around once more to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Coming out from behind the counter, he called over to his boss to make sure he was alright to leave, and when she said yes, the two of them were out of the door.

“How was your day?”

“Nothing special,” Iwaizumi answered, intertwining their fingers. “Well, I did have this guy come in and ask for six dozen bouquets.”

Squeezing his hand in his, Oikawa smiled to himself. “Six dozen? Isn’t that an obnoxious amount?”

“Well yeah, and they were all different types of flowers. As I was prepping them, he told me his whole life story. Turns out he was buying the flowers to win his girlfriend back.”

“Sounds like he really fucked up.”

Laughing, Iwaizumi nodded. “Apparently he made the worst impression on her parents. Guess her mom saw him naked before he could even say hello and then almost hit her dad with a car. And he said it only got worse from there.”

The thought of embarrassing yourself so drastically before you even got two words out is probably the worst outcome when meeting the parents. An odd feeling overcame Oikawa, realizing he’ll never have the chance to ruin his first encounter with his boyfriends parents.

Did Iwaizumi think about how embarrassing he could be when he met his parents?

“Do you work tonight?” Iwaizumi turned to look at Oikawa. 

Sighing, Oikawa nodded.

It was annoying that Iwaizumi’s job was during the day, while his was at night. To top it off, when he wasn’t working, he was usually drowning in school work. This little time between their two jobs was the most serene.

“That’s alright,” the florist could probably sense the annoyance in his boyfriend. “We can go back to my place for a while, and then I’ll visit you at work. Maybe Tsukishima, Kuroo and Suga will even come with!”

Iwaizumi’s ideas always made Oikawa smile. He was so thoughtful, knowing just what to say.

“I’d like that.”

The rest of their walk back to Iwaizumi’s apartment was filled with the sound of birds chirping, the sun shining and conversation about more odd customers and interesting things Oikawa had learned in class earlier that day.

Once they made it up to the door, Iwaizumi unlocked his door, letting Oikawa in first, following behind him. 

“Where do you want these ones?” Oikawa asked.

The piano was still decorated with the roses from the first time he’d ever been there, and they were still just as beautiful, laying over it as if they belonged there.

Humming, Iwaizumi took them from the bartender, looking around his apartment for their new home. “Do you know why tulips are my favorite?”

Thinking back, he knew that they were his favorites, just not why. He shook his head no.

Iwaizumi had a shine to his eyes as he wrapped his arm around Oikawa’s waist, pulling him into a kiss. 

The scent of flowers filled Oikawa’s senses all at once, as if vines were wrapping around his limbs, tangling Iwaizumi and himself together. Iwaizumi tasted like coffee, mischief and eagerness. As if he’d been waiting all damn day to have his way with Oikawa.

Without a second thought, Oikawa wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi’s shoulders, running his hands down his back, pushing into the kiss. 

Iwaizumi hummed, pulling Oikawa flesh against himself.

Running his hands up Iwaizumi’s spine, Oikawa could feel the definition of boyfriend’s bones. The muscle mass he once had seemed to have evaporated off of him, but he wasn’t skin and bone. If Oikawa had to guess, he was probably a tad bit smaller than the brunette himself right now. 

Pulling apart, Iwaizumi beamed up at Oikawa. “I missed you.”

“I always miss you,” Oikawa kissed him again. “Now, tell me why these are your favorite.”

Pulling the flowers up to his face, he inhaled their aroma, a soft, content look falling onto his face. Looking around the apartment, his eyes locked on the piano. Oikawa watched as he placed the yellow tulips onto the dried up roses. The bright yellow offset the deep red beautifully.

Turning his head back, he asked, “How do they look?”

“Beautiful,” Oikawa didn’t even have to think about it. “Almost as if you do this for a living or something.”

Iwaizumi smirked, moving over to the couch, gesturing for Oikawa to follow. The pianist sat down first, leaving room on the right side of him for the bartender. Oikawa gladly took his place on the couch, tossing his legs over Iwaizumi’s lap, sitting perpendicular to him.

“Kiss me again,” Iwaizumi breathed, running his fingers up Oikawa’s neck, rubbing his cheek with his thumb.

Not needing to be asked twice, Oikawa leaned in, softly kissing his boyfriend again and again. Iwaizumi was a drug and Oikawa had become obnoxiously addicted.

They stayed like that for what seemed like infinity. Just the two of them, soft, quiet kisses between them. The sound of leaves ruffling outside in the wind and the smell of flowers intoxicating their senses. 

Only when it was the two of them, did Iwaizumi get this softness about him; melting into Oikawa the same way that Oikawa melted into him. Of course the two of them weren’t always alone together, but seeing the way Iwaizumi was like this, made the brunette want to be selfish and keep to themselves for as long as possible.

“Tulips are the first flowers to bloom in the spring,” Iwaizumi told him, pulling out of the kiss but keeping his hand gingerly on Oikawa’s neck. “The overall meaning of them is rebirth, and I think that it’s beautiful.”

Oikawa hummed, letting the other man know that he was listening as he became lost in those emerald eyes.

“And like I told you before, different colors mean different things.”

Thinking back to their first date, Oikawa remembered how Iwaizumi told him that the purple tulips stood for royalty. As in, the ruler of the heart. He was embarrassed then, but looking back, it was a pleasant accident.

“You know what the purple ones mean already,” he winked, almost as if he read Oikawa’s mind. “There’s white ones, which mean forgiveness. Pink, which are happiness. Yellow is for cheerful thoughts.”

His gaze was pulled over to the piano, admiring the yellow tulips they just brought home. The tulips that Iwaizumi had picked himself.

Locking eyes with the pianist again, Oikawa couldn’t help but smile. “Is that why you picked the yellow tulips earlier? Do I give you  _ cheerful thoughts?” _

He might’ve sounded a tad bit cocky, but it was quite the opposite. The thought of him making Iwaizumi cheerful, and think like that, made him beyond ecstatic.

“Orange is meant for understanding in a relationship, either physically or emotionally,” he continued, ignoring Oikawa’s question. “And finally red, stands for perfect love.”

Oikawa didn’t know what to say. He never knew that flowers could mean anything other than just being something nice to look at. 

No matter what it was, Iwaizumi knew how to leave Oikawa speechless. 

Instead of saying anything, he just pulled his boyfriend closer, kissing him again.

“Don’t forget about the concert in—”

“Three weeks?” Iwaizumi interrupts. “How could I forget? You know how excited I am?”

Of course Oikawa knew.

Humming, he asked, “how’s your piece coming along?”

“Mm, I’m about half way done, maybe.”

“Maybe?” Oikawa cocked his head. “You’ve been working on that thing all year. Well actually, a lot longer than that.”

Iwaizumi kissed Oikawa’s hand. “Well, you know what they say. No one built an empire in a day.”

Scrunching his features, Oikawa smirked. “I don’t think that saying applies here.”

“Tomato, potato, same thing.”

“That’s it. You and Tetsu-kun are officially over,” Oikawa laughed. “I’m forbidding you from seeing each other anymore.”

“Wait, what’d I do?”

“That’s exactly what Tetsu-kun says, and it’s not even the right saying. You guys are a mess,” Oikawa stood.

“Oh no no no,” Iwaizumi grabbed his arm, pulling him back on the couch, “you’re not leaving me. Especially after you demand I never see my mistress ever again.”

Oikawa couldn’t believe he went through his life until now thinking that he was okay with the way things were. How many people did he hurt in the process? How many times could he have actually been happy if he tried?

None of them would’ve amounted to Iwaizumi Hajime, but if he tried with them the way he tried with Iwaizumi, he might not have been such a grinch towards others for so long.

Letting himself get pulled back down, he fell onto Iwaizumi’s lap this time. “I have to get ready for work~” 

“But you look so  _ beautiful _ right now. I just can’t help myself.” 

The pianist acted like Oikawa wanted to go to work instead of stay in his boyfriends lap and get peppered with kisses. 

He wasn’t making it easy to get up. Nor was he being fair.

Twisting in his lap, Oikawa kissed his boyfriend again. “I always look beautiful, thank you very much.” Iwaizumi raised his eyebrow, as if he was testing the brunette’s statement. “Anyways, if you play some of your piece for me while I get ready, maybe I’ll let you do some more of this later,” Oikawa breathed in that voice that he knew Iwaizumi liked.

After a moment of bargaining, Iwaizumi loosened his grip around his boyfriend's waist. “You drive a hard bargain, Space camp.”

“I know.” Oikawa kissed him once more, before getting up. “Now, serenade the fuck out of me.”

“As you wish,” Iwaizumi winked, before he sauntered over to the piano.

Oikawa rushed into the room, quickly getting ready so he could watch Iwaizumi play. He loved listening, but watching  _ and  _ listening was even better.

He tossed on some ripped skinny jeans, a green long sleeved shirt, ran a brush through his hair and tied some ankle high brown boots on. Giving himself a once over in the mirror, he decided he was good and crept quietly back into the living room.

Just as always, the pianist took his rightful place at the keys, running his fingers down them as he closed his eyes. With a deep breath, he began to dance along the keys, commanding the melodic sound to do his bidding. 

Iwaizumi melted into the piano, making the instrument another part of his body as his body moved like water. The sun was setting outside, and as it did, the silhouette of Iwaizumi Hajime grew larger, as did the music he created.

The beginning of the song was soft and quiet. The keys were gently touched, if hardly at all. The sound made Oikawa think of his own childhood, as he fumbled through the beginning of his life, trying to find his own two feet.

Abruptly, the sound changed. The keys were almost hammered on, a thunderous noise coming from them. It sounded angry, frustrated. As if the world had been turned on its axis, everything falling to ruin. 

As quickly as it came, it stopped, replaced with a sorrowful tone. It sounded as if the piano were in pain; as if it were crying out for help. For some form of salvation.

Oikawa’s eyes never left Iwaizumi as he watched him move with the music. With every shift in the music, Iwaizumi’s face churned with a different emotion. Contempness seemed to be the first emotion. Distress the second. Grief the third. 

The third verse seemed to last the longest. As Oikawa watched Iwaizumi play it, his vision went blurry and his face grew wet. Before he realized what was happening, he was crying silently to himself. This melancholy feeling flooded his heart as he realized this piece was about the pianists life. 

The first verse was the same as Oikawa’s; his childhood. But the second verse took on that angry tone. With a sense of dread, Oikawa realized that must be when he found out about his mom, and how powerless he felt to do anything about it. The third one was quiet like the first, but full of misery. The misery of losing his best friend, biggest fan and strongest pillar; his mother.

It was the most beautiful thing Oikawa had ever heard. As he wiped away his tears, a different sound came from the piano. This one unlike the other three. It was upbeat with a sense of devilry.

It didn’t take long for Oikawa to realize that this verse was when they met. He thought Oikawa was mischievous? 

He smiled to himself as he watched Iwaizumi’s features morph into that of bliss. This beautiful sound was what Iwaizumi felt when he thought about his life now, with Oikawa. Now that was a damn good feeling.

As Iwaizumi began to slow, the brunette caught on that this must be the middle of the piece, which is as far as he’d made it. Oikawa didn’t want it to end, but as he relished in the beautiful sight of his boyfriend at his best, a brilliant idea popped into his head.

Iwaizumi found Oikawa’s eyes the second he finished. “What’d you think?”

“What did I think?” Oikawa’s voice cracked. “That was, it was, I’ve never...” Trying to collect his thoughts, he took a deep breath. “I’ve never heard anything so  _ powerful _ .”

A smile grew from ear to ear on his face, the slightest tint of pink on his cheeks. “It still needs a lot of work, but I can’t wait to play it for you when it’s all finished.” Iwaizumi closed the cover over the keys, getting up to join Oikawa. “I’m gonna get ready too.”

“You’re gonna sit at the bar my entire shift?”

“No—” Iwaizumi kissed Oikawa once more— “I’ll head over to Kuroo and Tsukishima’s for awhile and we’ll all come together. I already texted Suga to meet me there.”

Oikawa hummed, watching his boyfriend walk back the hall.

Pulling his phone out, he texted his group chat with Kuroo and Tsukishima.

 

**From Oikawa:**

_ Stop stealing my boyfriend from me. _

**From Kuroo:**

_ I’m not stealing him. He comes here cause he wants to! _

**From Oikawa:**

_ Whatever. _

_ But I know how I’m gonna tell Iwa-chan! _

**From Tsukishima:**

_ Are you going to say ‘I love you’? _

**From Kuroo:**

_ Where’s the pizzazz in that?? _

Oikawa looked up at the piano, smiling at the yellow tulips as he remembered what Iwaizumi had said about the different colors.

**From Oikawa:**

_ I’m gonna give him a red tulip. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title drop!
> 
> Heyyo! Sorry again. I really liked this chapter. I love Oikawa, Kuroo and Tsukishima's friendship so much. And I'm in love with IwaOi (obviously).  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did. Your comments and kudos are always appreciated<3


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